together. she works for a marine animal welfare organization called sr3. he works for noaa fisheries. they get transportation in antarctica the with lindblad. this is the seventh year in a row we ve conducted research. reporter: and it s the long- term commitment that s important. we re studying animals that live as long as we do. to understand them and get enough opportunities with them, it takes multiple years. reporter: right now, though, even the short-term commitment is in doubt. mark phillips, cbs news, antarctica. pelley: and that s the cbs evening news for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org
this hunt, though, isn t about killing whales. it s about trying to save them. one of the reasons we study top predators is to understand the health of the ecosystem that helps support them. reporter: an ecosystem that is changing. john durban and holly fearnbach, modern whale hunters, using modern gear, a camera mounted on a drone to give the whales a health check-up. and finding some are in trouble. she s very, very thin. you can see her ribs really clearly. she s lost all of the fat along her entire body. you re looking at a dying whale. and she has a dependent offspring. once the female dies, she will lose her calf. reporter: it s too early to know why it s happening, but the prime suspect, antarctica is warming up. there is a problem with fewer seals. less ice, fewer seals, is that a leap? reporter: holly and john have had to cobble this process
john and holly are just building up a database of what comes out of a whale s blowhole. but if a whale is unwell, the atheory is, you d effectively be able to smell it on their breath. in the meantime they can only take an educated guess on why they re finding sick whales in these pristine waters.
the national geographic explorer is a different kind of adventure-cruise ship. she s on a whale hunt cutting through the pack ice near the antarctic circle. the good ship explorer is not just here for the sightseeing, although there s plenty to see. and while nobody shouts thar she blows when whales are spotted - this time in open water. people do jump into small boats to chase them, just like in the old days. this hunt, though, isn t about killing whales. it s about saving them. it s about giving them a health check. and the prognosis isn t particularly good. one of the reasons we study top pedators, and killer whales are the top predator in the ocean, is to understand the health of the ecosystem that supports them. john durban and holly fearnbach are modern whale hunters who use the latest tools. they use a drone, fitted with equipment to monitor the whales condition.
national science foundation, that we should anticipate budget cuts. it didn t take very long after the election for that word to come down. reporter: even when research is government funded, the money often doesn t go far enough, even now. john durban, an employee of the noaa fisheries department, uses a drone to check on the health of antarctic whales, but there s no way he and his co-researcher holly fearnbach could be here if they didn t get a ride from the tour operator. it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars if you going to charter a research vessel. reporter: and you come down here with this group. right, it s a wonderful relationship we have. paddles on the left-hand side, please. reporter: the tourists are effectively funding the science. and many, like lori fey from austin, who is up for just about anything, say they are willing to pay a premium to do so. i really think it s a shame that the science is in the crosshairs of politics. because it doesn t take muc