To naturalists, the name "Steller" evokes images of northern forests, rocky shorelines and cold Pacific waters. Born in Germany, Georg Wilhelm Steller was trained as a zoologist, botanist and physician. After accepting a position at the Academy of Science in Petersburg, Russia, Steller was chosen to be the naturalist for Vitus Bering's exploration of the northern Pacific, a journey to chart a passage to North America.
Bering and his crew reached Alaska in 1741 and, along the way, Steller compiled a long list of newly discovered plants and animals. Among the latter were sea otters, northern fur seals, Steller's sea cow, Steller's sea lion, spectacled cormorants, Steller's eider, Steller's sea eagle and Steller's jay. The sea cow, a giant dugong weighing up to three tons, was soon famous for its meat and hide and was hunted to extinction within thirty years; spectacled cormorants also disappeared within a century of their discovery. Steller's sea lions, though holding on, have diminished in number over the past few decades; while the cause remains uncertain, there is evidence that overfishing in the northern Pacific has forced these sea lions to consume a less nutritious diet, leading to a rise in infant mortality.
Georg Steller died in 1746 before his journals were published but lives on in the plants and animals that bear his name. Today, young naturalists might assume that such monumental voyages of discovery are relegated to history but there is still much to explore and document: the rain forests, deep sea and outer space beckon!
