68 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



FOOD OF WHALES. 



Balcenoptera inusculiis. In 1903, for about one month 

 from I 2th June, the Finner whales lived mostly upon herrings. 

 After that they fed upon shrimps and " kril " (Thysanopoda 

 inermis}. For a short time during the change of food they 

 fell off in condition, but soon got fat again upon crustaceae. 



This year whaling began, at the Ronas Voe stations, on 

 April 1 6th, and at the Collafirth Alexandra station on 

 2nd June. On I3th June a whale at the Shetland 

 station was found with herrings inside. On 22nd July, at 

 the Alexandra station, I found some herrings in a Finner ; 

 the same day at the Shetland station another whale was 

 opened with herrings. On ipth August a Finner was got 

 with some two barrels of herrings inside. The captain of 

 the steamer that killed it said he saw no kril in the sea when 

 he was out that time. After that it was the invariable rule 

 at the Alexandra station to find herrings in the whales. 

 It has also been remarked to me that the kril-fed whales of 

 this year (1904) were fatter than the herring-fed whales of 

 last year (1903). 



It is certain that the Finners which last year fed largely 

 on herrings, fed this year upon shrimps and kril. Last year,, 

 till well on in July, there was little kril in the Faroe seas, 

 and it was the same off Shetland. This year kril and 

 shrimps were plentiful till the middle of August on the 

 north and east coasts of Shetland. But a curious circum- 

 stance must be mentioned. One of the Ronas Voe steamers 

 has been getting its whales up to 100 miles north-west of 

 Shetland, and these whales are entirely shrimp-fed. The 

 manager thinks that there is a warm current in which the 

 shrimps and kril live which attract the whales. Certainly 

 on the east coast, where late in August there were no 

 shrimps, the whales lived on herrings instead of shrimps. 

 I think these observations prove that Finner whales only 

 eat herrings when kril and shrimps are not to be got. It 

 is certain that these whales prefer kril as a food to herrings ; 

 moreover, the herrings which came to the Shetland coasts 

 this year must have passed through the army of Finners, 

 forty miles off land, with impunity. 



