How did the Steller’s sea cow get its name?
A. Steller’s sea cow is named after the naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller. Steller spent the winter of 1741 on Bering Island with other survivors of the wreck of the Russian ship, the “Saint Peter.” While there, he busied himself by collecting and recording detailed observations of the plants, animals and minerals he found on the island. His notes, together with the studies of bones found on Bering and Copper Island, comprise the majority of information regarding the Steller’s sea cow. Sadly, Steller and his crew were also pretty much responsible for the extinction of the Steller’s sea cow. Because the animals were slow and stayed in relatively shallow water, they were easy to hunt for food. The survivors of the Saint Peter told stories of the sea cows on Bering Island after their return to Russia, and the Steller’s sea cow was hunted to extinction within 27 years of its discovery.
