Breathing hole hunting
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Seal and other sea mammals must surface to breath. In winter, seals must maintain a breathing hole through the gradualy thickening sea ice by pushing their snout through the ice before it becomes too hard. Seals swim upwards into the breathing hole, forcing sea water and slush out through the top, before gulping down air and submerging. The Inuit place a feather indicator on the slush, such that the water disturbed by an approaching seal moves the feather, signaling the Inuit to ready his harpoon for a quick downward thrust. | ||
| Figure 1 Artist's visualization of an Inuit hunter. | |||
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