How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Some sailors insisted that the tortoises felt no pangs of hunger during their time on a whaleship, but Nickerson was not so sure. (4.45)
Yeah, we're going to have to agree with Nifty Nickerson on this one. While the sailors are just trying to survive, their actions end up having wide-ranging consequences on several ecosystems—not to mention the immense suffering they put these individual animals through. They'll know those feelings of hunger soon enough, however.
Quote #5
Although the crew of the Essex had already done its part diminishing the world's sperm-whale population, it was here [...] that they contributed to the eradication of a species. (4.51)
Case in point. The turtles that the Essex crew gathered by the bucketload (and ended up dumping in the middle of the ocean) were an important part of the Galapagos ecosystem. Their absence (not to mention the crew's short-sighted pyro spree) ends up doing irreversible damage to an endangered species. In fact, the Galapagos turtle population has yet to recover from such calamities.
Quote #6
Chase and his men had good reason to be amazed. Never before, in the entire history of the Nantucket whale fishery, had a whale been known to attack a ship. (5.18)
How dare that whale fight back? Doesn't he know that human beings are the best animals of all time? Suffice it to say that the whales disagree with this assertion, and now that they know what's up, they're not going down without a fight. And trust us on this one: you don't want to be on the receiving end of a whale punch. Ouchies.