Paramotor Magazine, issue 22, Dec 2010/Jan 2011
Surveying beluga whales in freezing open sea sounded a step too far for Alexander Bogdanov. But, as he explained to Ed Ewing, he and Vladimir Makurin pulled it off
IN RUSSIA'S EAST, about 8,000 km from Moscow, lies the Sea of Okhotsk. Icebound in winter, in summer it teems with wildlife. Long, low, narrow islands slide out of the waves here, rising mere feet above sea level. They form a wildlife sanctuary for birds: red-necked stints, whimbrels, bar-tailed godwits and thousands of common sandpipers.
No one lives here year round. Only one group make their seasonal home here each summer, and they are here for a purpose. Far out to sea, some 10 to 15 km offshore, the sea is home to white whales, belugas, which feed in their thousands here on millions of migrating salmon and spawning herring.
Estimates put their numbers at perhaps 10,000, although no one really knows. The men are fishermen and as well as fishing they are here to catch white whales. Each season they are licensed to take a dozen or so young for marine parks around the world.
1,700 words. Read this account of what was a frankly stunning adventure in Paramotor Magazine, only on subscription
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