Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 717 714: Oil Saves the Whale

"Everyone, give it another push, we are almost through!"

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

The third mate shouted.

"Ho!"

The crowd cheered.

Wielding the electric saw, the third mate cut through the last bit of connection, successfully separating a nearly one square meter block of huge ice into floating chunks within the ice cavern.

"Puff!"

A spout sounded, and the giant whale's head pushed through the broken ice, breathing freely at the surface of the sea.

The water column turned into frost in the cold air, landing on the faces of a few tourists who couldn't dodge in time, but it didn't cause any discomfort. Instead, everyone laughed heartily, treating it as an affectionate interaction, with some even jostling to be sprayed, in high spirits.

Watching the gray whale move step by step closer to the shore with the efforts of the people, such interactive feeling was incomparable, and it was also the fundamental reason why the tourists persisted.

Rescuing gray whales sounded noble and was indeed fun, but it was undeniable that most people were initially driven by sheer enthusiasm. Once the Arctic cold wind blew, nobody knew how many would turn into great musicians, beating a retreat, even catching colds.

But seeing the gray whales move along with the ice cavern dug out by the people, responding to the interaction, everyone understood that these big guys were extremely intelligent. They weren't dim-witted wild beasts but rather another kind of highly intelligent creature that could communicate, interact, and share joy.

Just the feeling of self-satisfaction from seeing one's help clearly reciprocated was enough to make many unable to stop, even if they had runny noses and risked their pee being frozen – they would still come running to join in.

"Once, at 70 degrees north latitude, every place we went to was inhabited by whales," the first mate said, pointing to the surrounding ice fields, ready to make a grand speech, yet he sighed, "But now you can see nothing. Gray whales, bowhead whales, all gone – seeing a few is already the favor of Lady Luck."

In the 19th century, the Inuit, Yupik, and Chukchi peoples dominated the whale populations in the ocean, and it escalated over time, leading to a precipitous decline in the number of whales.

It wasn't until the appearance of Abraham Gesner that this massacre was largely brought to an end.

Although to this day the whale populations haven't shown any signs of recovery, fortunately, they have managed to survive.

The reason wasn't that Abraham Gesner led any great movement to protect the whales but because, through his mineral research, he discovered a fluid made from a combination of coal, bitumen, and oil shale – he called it kerosene.

That's right, kerosene, or to speak more fundamentally, it was the discovery of petroleum that saved the lives of the whales.

The largest creatures in the sea, whales were not simply viewed as food; if they were only food, humans wouldn't have been so eagerly pursuing them.

Before the widespread use of petroleum, whales were one of the world's main energy sources.

The unique aspect of these large creatures was the whale oil in their heads, used as fuel, primarily for lighting at that time.

In the 1850s, the majority of Ugly Country and European households depended on whale oil for lighting at night, supplying illumination for half the world.

Whale oil was rendered from the subcutaneous tissue and internal organs of whales, with the oil from the head of sperm whales providing the brightest and most stable flame.

It can be said that, aside from the sun and moon, human illumination at that time almost completely depended on the whaling industry.

With the outbreak of the first Industrial Revolution in the early 19th century and the proliferation of the steam engine, as well as the explosive growth of scientific and industrial knowledge, there was a craze for learning new knowledge, and the demand for indoor lighting surged accordingly. Thus, the price of whale oil also soared, making whaling a lucrative livelihood.

Greed makes people crazy.

At that time, capturing a whale could bring each crew member an income equivalent to half a year's wages for a land worker. Tremendous economic benefits drove whalers to hunt whales using all kinds of cruel methods.

In 1760, whalers from Ugly Country invented the technology to boil and render whale oil on the ship, turning whaling into an industry.

Latterly, people slowly turned their attention to whale meat, bones, and even excrement, making full use of the whale for industrial, military, craft, and even cosmetic uses, all bearing the "mark" of whales.

A blue whale weighing 120 tons has more than 40 tons of fat, yielding up to 400 barrels of whale oil.

But the daily output of an oil well could reach 3000 barrels.

Gesner's new invention not only illuminated the whole world but also cut off the most important source of income for the whaling industry.

Different kinds of kerosene emerged one after another, causing the whaling industry to decline rapidly; its "golden age" eventually came to an abrupt end, and the era of whale oil lighting dimmed.

So in various senses, it wasn't animal conservation, but the disappearance of profits, the emergence of the oil industry that truly allowed the world's whales to dodge a bullet.

"Thank God we can still see such beautiful creatures, and I hope our descendants can too,"

Several tourists at the side made the sign of the cross over their chests.

After a brief prayer, everyone went back to work.

...

"Heave-ho!"

Bi Fang grabbed the reindeer antlers, dragging the huge creature to the side of the sled, strenuously pulling the nearly two-hundred-kilogram beast onto it.

Opening the zipper and shedding his coat, Bi Fang gasped for air, rapidly dissipating the heat.

The hunting went very smoothly; the reindeer indeed started running, creating a spectacular sight, but Bi Fang didn't have any plan for a direct confrontation. After the initial ambush failed, he swiftly retreated, waiting for the Whirlwind Formation to end.

Only when the reindeer had expended a lot of energy did Bi Fang jump out again, hitting two sturdy deer with Darts.

Yes, two.

Opportunities were scarce, and with three extra mouths to feed, Bi Fang had long been aiming for a higher target.

Already drained from the chase and with blood loss, it wasn't long before the two large deer could no longer hold up and collapsed one after the other. The surrounding reindeer initially put up a fight but eventually scattered and fled.

"They are cowards after all, lacking the courage of musk oxen,"

Bi Fang used ropes to secure the two big deer, drove the sled, and found a large rock to drag the reindeer on top, processing the spoils of the hunt.

Dexterously skinning the animals, cleaning most of the innards to reward the sled dogs, turning the stomachs into water bags, Bi Fang cooked some hot soup to make up for the missed dinner.

"Remove the bones and inedible parts of the innards, and the deer skin, the remaining meat must weigh over two hundred kilograms, quite the bounty, ah, and this is for you,"

Bi Fang handed a clean white deer head to Goudan.

Goudan bit the antlers, placing them on the ground, then stuck his head inside—surprisingly, it was a perfect fit.

Compared to the massive musk ox head, obviously, the reindeer head was a bit more suitable.

"Hmm, there's another one," Bi Fang said, picking up the second deer head.

Unfortunately, aside from Goudan's hobby, the other sled dogs were indifferent, focusing on the food in front of them.

[Actually, I'd rather have (dog's head)]

[Add one! I want it!]

[Seriously, you guys can bring yourself to compete with a dog for things??]

The live broadcast room was bustling, but in the distant Arctic, Bi Fang tightened his clothes.

He felt that tonight the temperature seemed even lower, unsure if it was the cooling after briefly dissipating heat or if it was genuinely that cold.

"An illusion?"