Filmmaker on Shooting Walruses Underwater

Brian Handwerk
for National Geographic Ultimate Explorer

April 2, 2004

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.

That was the first indication to me of how important walruses were, not only to the Inuit, but possibly also to these bears. I wanted to explore that interaction. That's how, years later, I ended up living side by side on this island with polar bears and walruses. It seems like maybe a crazy thing to do. But after years of pursuing these animals, it's a learning process. Eventually I could say, "OK, I'm going to take precautions but also take the risk of being out there with them." It's terrifying, but it's also the way to get close.

The Arctic can be a tough place to merely survive. What are the extra challenges to dive and film there?

Ice diving in general is just challenging and difficult. You have 29° Fahrenheit (minus 1.7° Celsius) water temps. So you have to deal with the cold, and … [if you were] unprotected, you wouldn't last long. A dry suit is not warm, but it keeps you in the water for 30 to 40 minutes. Then you've got to get out.

There are dangers under the ice … the chance of being trapped … . So you always have to be aware. Also it's really unproven how these animals react to people in the water. They weigh up to a ton or more and have dagger-type tusks in font of their face. They can do a lot of damage.

They have individual personalities like humans. In some instances, you wouldn't go into the water. Others you approach carefully. In a herd, they are really unpredictable.

It sounds like they have some humanlike qualities.

I think what's attractive to many people is how humanlike [walruses] are. You see it with the mother-baby bond, the hugging. It's so evident, and it's similar to a human mother and child.

Also when you see masses of animals get together, it's impressive—whether you're looking at people in downtown Manhattan or at herds of walruses. They touch a lot. They're gregarious and social. In that way, there are a lot of human comparisons. For me, at least, that's probably why I've stayed with them for so long.

Much of the time you must play a waiting game, correct?

It often lasts for several seasons. Sometimes you learn about something one year, stake it out for a year, then maybe miss [the] event, [and] have to come back a third year. The waiting game doesn't stop, and it eats away a bit. You say, I didn't wake up in time. Or, I didn't stay long enough. It's not a relaxed kind of waiting with a Corona in your hand. It's intense.

But when you finally get something that's unique, it's incredible. You're very relieved, and the adrenaline is going. It's so rewarding and such a great feeling.

What we do is entertaining, and putting stories together is important. But I also enjoy making photographic contributions, even in a small way, to the scientific fields that I studied but didn't pursue professionally [zoology and marine biology]. Being able to say that, at this moment, at this place, this is what happened—and we've never seen anything like it before—that's what makes it worthwhile.

For more news on Adam Ravetch and the Arctic, scroll down for related stories and links.