Hess focuses on the hunt for the bowhead whale. He shows us how it feels to stand in an open boat bobbing on a frozen sea, waiting to take a harpoon-gun shot at a creature the size of an 18-wheeler.

There is typically one chance to harpoon the whale. If the hunt is successful, each person in the village can receive a share of the meat. A butchered bowhead whale can yield thousands of pounds ...

Migrating bowhead whales swim past tiny coastal villages ... which generally means only light regulations when it comes to harvesting fish and game for food. Because we were white, we couldn’t hunt ...

A species of whale, so ancient and elusive that harpoon fragments dating back over a century have been discovered embedded in their bodies, continues to intrigue scientists. The mysterious bowhead ...