RIGHT WHALES 137 



whales of the southern hemisphere are also migra- 

 tory. 



Balcena australis has the same strong maternal 



o 



affection that characterises Balcena mysticetus. This 

 is illustrated by the recital of the capture of a whale 

 in the Bay of St. Sebastian, quoted by M. Fischer* 

 (to whom science is indebted for a oreat deal of 



N O 



collected information about this and other whales) : 

 " When the mother whale saw her young captured, 

 instead of flying she made unheard of attempts to 

 free it, describing a circle round the boats without 

 hurting them. Sometimes she pressed the cub 

 under her great fins, and tried to drag it away ; 

 sometimes she dived with it, disappeared, and re- 

 appeared at some distance. But the enterprise was 

 not easy ; the ropes were strong, and the three 

 harpoons well embedded." Later on the cub es- 

 caped through the mother breaking, by a stroke of 

 her powerful tail, the ropes attached to the harpoons ; 

 but the young one died, and the mother followed 

 and remained near its dead body regardless of 

 musket shots fired at her, and only went away on 

 the following day. 



This whale, which was once more abundant on 

 the coasts of Europe than it appears to be now, 

 has been much hunted, especially by the Basques, 

 who have left their mark upon the whaling industry 

 by the very word harpoon. Of this industry a 

 number of important observations on the spot, and 



* " Cetace'es du Sud-Ouest de la France," Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 

 1881. 



