Viva Brighton Issue #66 August 2018

WILDLIFE
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Spectacled Cormorant
A tale of sea monsters, shipwrecks and Steller
Illustration by Mark Greco
As a boy I often dreamt of escape, adventure and
discovery. I fantasised about unexplored islands
where creatures never seen by mankind still waited
to be discovered and described. Due to my bad
timing I arrived on this planet too late, but one of
my heroes was in the right place at the right time.
Georg Wilhelm Steller was born on 10th March
1709 and he died on the 10th March 1709. While
the midwife packed her bags his auntie persevered
and he was revived on 10th March 1709. Steller
loved nature and his childhood was spent in the
woods and fields around his home in Windsheim,
Germany where, like me, he dreamt of exploration
and discovery. At the age of 31 his golden ticket
arrived. He was to be the scientist on an expedition
led by the indomitable Commander Vitus Bering.
Steller’s journals are one of the greatest adventure
stories ever told. After the St Peter sets sail from
Siberia, Steller spends time with the sexually liberated
native people – the Itelmen – and learns how
to cure scurvy from their female shamans. But after
reaching Alaska things go wrong. Horribly wrong.
Despite Steller’s medical advice the entire crew is
struck with scurvy. A relentless violent storm tears
the St Peter apart and Steller, the only healthy man
on board, reluctantly takes the helm. Eventually
what’s left of the crew find themselves shipwrecked
on an undiscovered island. Scurvy, starvation and
Arctic foxes claim more lives, including that of
Bering himself but, despite this hell, Steller nips off
to do some birdwatching. On the newly christened
Bering Island he finds new species of eider duck,
sea eagle and sea lion and discovers some actual sea
monsters: colossal 10-tonne sea cows swimming
offshore. On the rocky shores Steller is the first man
to encounter a giant ‘quite ludicrous’ seabird – the
Spectacled Cormorant. After 10 months stranded,
the expedition finally made it home. Steller died in
1746. Steller’s Sea Cow was hunted to extinction
just 27 years after being discovered. The Spectacled
Cormorant hid from the hunters for another 80
years until it too was lost forever.
A few years ago Mark Greco and I undertook our
own expedition to Tring in Hertfordshire to examine
one of only seven stuffed specimens of Spectacled
Cormorant left on this planet. We didn’t suffer
the same hardships as Steller (although we almost
missed our connecting train at Milton Keynes).
Awestruck, I carefully cradled the cormorant. Its
green iridescent feathers shimmered under the
museum lights and brought the bird’s plumage back
to life. For a moment I imagined these cormorants
swimming amongst the sea cows as Steller stood
watching from the shore, and I dreamt again of an
undiscovered island somewhere out there. Considering
the fate of the Spectacled Cormorant and
Steller’s Sea Cow, perhaps it’s best it stays that way.
Michael Blencowe, Sussex Wildlife Trust
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