The land and its people exist between the edges of charted perception, in the most extreme of environments. Early spring may be a time of renewal for most of the Northern Hemisphere, but it's dying time in Chukotka. Winter cyclones still prowl the tundra, the wind-chill factor still hits 100 below, and doctors still travel from village to village, amputating frostbitten fingers and toes. Though not the coldest or darkest period of winter in Chukotka, the crossover weeks from March to April are among the most harrowing for the Yupik Eskimo and Chukchi tribes who populate the peninsula. Their winter stores of heating oil and food are nearly exhausted.
Famine is their shadow beneath the ashen Arctic sun.
They have only to ready their weapons and wait for the whales to return. Devil Fish Fierce prey. The majestic gray whale inspires awe, conflict, and troubling environmental questions from the icy seas of Russia to the warm lagoons of Baja. All rights reserved.