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2️⃣/4️⃣ These logbooks were digitized by the New Bedford Whaling Museum. For 400 years, commercial whalers hunted bowhead whales across the Arctic, pushing them near extinction. By the early 1900s, fewer than 4,000 remained. Today, some populations are recovering faster than others. Why?

3️⃣/4️⃣ Researchers analyzed centuries of whaling logbooks and rebuilt ship routes and kill locations. They found Arctic sea ice refuges where whales were shielded from whalers for decades, reducing hunting pressure on some populations. Those hidden refuges may explain today’s recovery patterns.