SPERM WHALES AND BOTTLE-NOSED WHALES 261 



A striking difference between this species and all the whalebone 

 whales is that, whereas in the latter the female animals are 

 usually a little larger than the males, in the Sperm the female 

 never attains a length greatly in excess of a half that of the 

 full-grown male. 



The Sperm Whale is widely distributed throughout the 

 great oceans of the world, and although on the whole it prefers 

 the warmer waters of tropical and subtropical regions, its range 

 extends to the coldest polar seas. It is said of the wanderers 

 into high latitudes that they are old male animals driven from 

 the herd by the younger, stronger bulls ; for it must be remem- 

 bered that this species is polygamous, and it is likely that 

 struggles take place among the bulls to decide the leadership 

 of the herd. However true this explanation may be, the fact 

 remains that in the Antarctic the Sperm Whales caught are 

 almost without exception old male animals, and on the British 

 coast old males are most commonly stranded. But the 

 remaining and main stock of Sperm Whales is to be found 

 chiefly between the north and south latitudes of 40 . In 1935 

 the New York Zoological Society published a paper by the 

 Director of the New York Aquarium, Mr. C. H. Townsend, on 

 " The Distribution of Certain Whales as shown by Log-book 

 Records of American Whaleships ", and a study of the charts 

 accompanying the publication is most enlightening. The two 

 charts showing Sperm Whale distribution are for the periods 

 April-September and October-March, respectively. " It will 

 be seen," says Mr. Townsend, " that in the North Atlantic 

 . . . the platted (plotted) areas above latitude 25 are with 

 a few exceptions for the April-September period" (northern 

 summer). " Between north latitude 25 ° and the Equator 

 Sperm Whales were taken chiefly during the October-March 

 season. Along the east coast of South America . . . the 

 catches were largely made during the same season, or summer- 

 time in the southern hemisphere. Along latitude 35 south 

 towards the Cape of Good Hope whaling data are also for the 

 October-March season. 



" Off Japan and along latitude 30 north the plattings are 

 those of the April-September season. In the Pacific equatorial 

 belt, catches for all months of the year are represented. Off 

 the west coast of South America, south of the Equator, the 



