National Geographic Ultimate Explorer guest correspondent Adam Ravetch has spent his career pursuing one of the high Arctic's massive and misunderstood animals—the walrus. This week, footage that the award-winning cinematographer obtained while scuba diving in Arctic waters appears in Battle of the Arctic Giants, premiering Sunday, April 4, 8 p.m. ET/PT on MSNBC.
The film reveals the drama of walruses and polar bears meeting face-to-face, and shares what's likely the first underwater footage of a mother walrus nursing and protecting a newborn calf.
National Geographic News caught up with Ravetch during a recent telephone interview from his home in Victoria, British Columbia.
Why did you choose to film walruses?
When I first went north, 10 or 15 years ago, I worked with the Inuit and they said, "If a walrus shows up while you're in the water—get out. It's an animal that can hold you against your will or take your head off with a tusk." There was kind of a monstrous reputation for this animal.
I wanted to know if anyone had tried to film these animals underwater, to really see those aspects of their lives. I found out that little of that kind of stuff existed. What drove me was to find an animal where I could make a contribution. The Arctic is so harsh and difficult that many mysteries remain in the lives of all the animals up there.
Did you learn much about walruses from the Inuit?
Hunting and living with them has enriched my life and given me access to the animals in a special way. Most of the men I work with are hunters, and they are used to getting close to animals. Because the Inuit weren't used to really guiding people or having a business relationship, I found myself on a lot of the hunts. And I saw some remarkable things happen.
I was on a hunt when a baby calf was harpooned and the mother just grabbed onto that calf and held on tight. The Inuit were pulling on that calf for 45 minutes—maybe longer. When you see an animal in distress or suffering you can't help but be affected by it. Seeing that mother-baby bond made me want to find that same situation in a more natural environment and film it.
All of the hunts have shown me situations and given insight to want to film these animals in ways that I wouldn't have known.
Is that how you came to film polar bears as they preyed on young walruses?
The Inuit were cutting up a walrus and packing the meat when a polar bear just showed up from nowhere. This bear was obviously very determined. There were probably 15 or 20 people around. But [the polar bear] just boldly came right in and grabbed a piece of the hunters' meat. We actually shot in front of that bear as a scare tactic but he didn't even care. What was really wild was that I think these hunters had encountered this before, because they just kept working, side-by-side, once that bear had its meat.
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