HUNTING POISONS OF NORTH-PACIFIC-REGION

  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • review article
    • Vol. 39  (2-3) , 87-124
Abstract
The hunting poisons of the North Pacific region are discussed. The most important one used by the Ainu was based on Aconitum spp. (surku or suruku); on Hokkaido, Japan, A. japonicum was used to some extent but A. yezoense and A. sachalinense were mainly used; on S Sakhalin [USSR], perhaps A. fischeri, A. maximum and/or A. sachalinense are the principle poisons, and on the Kuril Islands [USSR], A. maximum. Poison from the Japanese stingray Dasyatis akajei (aikor chiep) was also frequently used, alone or mixed with aconite, and was believed by some Ainu to be better than aconite. Adjuvants to these poisons were numerous and varied in each locality. Daphne kamtschatica var. yezoensis (ketuhas) was used in hunting walrus. Cynanchum caudatum (penup) was used to ctach birds. Juglans ailanthifolia (nesko) was a fish poison. The inhabitants of the Kamchatka Peninsula [USSR], the Kamchadal (Itelmen), hunted with a poison derived from Aconitum maximum. This same species was almost certainly used in the Aleutian Islands and the Kodiak Island region [Alaska, USA], principally for hunting whales. The inhabitants of NE Siberia [USSR] and the Alaskan coasts opposite may also have used poison in hunting. The chemistry and toxicology of the poisons are briefly considered.

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