486 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 28 



blue whales are more numerous than finbacks at the beginning of 

 the whaling season in October. The arrival of blue whales seems 

 to fluctuate from year to year, possibly owing to conditions prevail- 

 ing along migration routes, for Risting found that the influx cul- 

 minated in December in three of the years for which statistics were 

 available, in January during another year, and in February during 

 the fifth year. Again in 1925-26 large numbers of blue whales ap- 

 peared in March. 



Blue whales arrive before the finbacks at South Shetlands. In 

 October and November off the South Shetlands the blue whales 

 follow the retreating ice edge southward and enter Bransfield Strait 

 as soon as conditions permit. Here the southward migration reaches 

 its greatest maximum from December 20 to January 15, after which 

 the blue whales force their way southward along Graham Land 

 into waters with more abundant ice. With the approach of Ant- 

 arctic winter, ice forms rapidly in the straits and sounds, and it 

 is then that the whales retire from their feeding grounds and trek 

 northward toward more temperate waters. (Risting, 1928, pp. 

 22-23). 



The periodical appearance of blue whales on the west coast of 

 Africa corresponds to the season when they are less numerous in the 

 Antarctic. They appear off the southernmost point of Africa as 

 early as April, where they are taken by whalers operating out of 

 Saldanha Bay, Proceeding northward they pass Walfisch Bay 

 sometime in May, and farther northward along the Angola coast 

 they are most numerous in July, August, and September. On their 

 southward run they again appear off Saldanha Bay in August, Sep- 

 tember, and October, although blue whales are taken at that station 

 from April until December. (Risting, 1928, pp. 23-26.) 



Captain Bryde observed what he thought was a blue whale south 

 of Abrolhos Bank, north of Rio, Brazil, in about 22° south latitude 

 (Hinton, 1925, p. 68), and they are reported to be present during the 

 summer off the coast of Chile. 



In referring to the rarity of records for blue whales in New Zea- 

 land waters, Oliver (1922, p. 562) remarks that they are exceedingly 

 abundant in the Antarctic Ocean. Blue whales were observed on 

 December 5 at 169° 18' east longitude and 63° 3' south latitude, and 

 again on February 10 at 164° 38' east longitude and 63° 22' south 

 latitude by Bull (1896, pp. 130, 202). This explorer (1896, p. 161) 

 saw numerous blue whales south of the Antarctic Circle on January 

 13, 1895, in the vicinity of 177° east longitude and 68° south latitude. 

 Wilson reported seeing many blue whales on March 4, 1904, off the 

 Balleny Archipelago, 156° 20' east longitude and 67° 30' south lati- 

 tude. (Liouville, 1913, p. 36.) The Terra Nova expedition also mel 

 with blue whales in the Ross Sea in January and February. (Lillie, 



