any stretch of the imagination. but it s warming up. there s a big difference. and they are threatened. alaa has its fair share of endangered animals, but at the top of the list are six species of whales. starting in the early 1900s commercial whaling, which is the hunting of whales for profit, nearly depleted alaska s whale population before it was internationally banned in 1986. but long before commercial whaling existed, bare error barrow s native tribes hunted whales in a tradition called subsistence whaling, which is the harvesting of whales for the survival of the community. this way of hunting is still popular today. in fact, crews are allowed to harvest 25 whales per year because not one ounce is sold. and tonight i m going to the home of herman ashic, a local whaleboat captain, to learn about why whaling is still important in the increasingly modern barrow, and to sample a local delicacy. mmm. whale blubber. the other other other white meat.