Weapon Found in Whale Dated From the 1800s

LABarr writes "AP and CNN are carrying a story that has forced scientists to re-evaluate the longevity of mammals. A bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it survived a similar hunt over a century ago. 'Embedded deep under its blubber was a 3½-inch arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale's age, estimated between 115 and 130 years old. The bomb lance fragment, lodged in a bone between the whale's neck and shoulder blade, was likely manufactured in New Bedford, on the southeast coast of Massachusetts, a major whaling center at that time. It was probably shot at the whale from a heavy shoulder gun around 1890.' "

Comments

An interesting sidetrack

[Chuu]

For a long time if I saw an interesting Slashdot story, I knew it was inevitable that it would end up on the frontpage of Digg.

This is the first time I've seen it in reverse.

Re:Longevity of whales

[notasheep]

If gun ownership in the US played a role in the rest of the world's environment/safety then your context would make sense. But since we're only killing ourselves, they really don't care.