NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



known. Being lighter than water it would enable 

 the Whale to come to the surface more rapidly 

 head foremost. Ambergris is a product of this 

 Whale. It is a concretion formed in the intestines, 

 and always contains a number of the hard beaks of 

 the cuttles and squids on which the Sperm Whale 

 feeds. Ambergris is occasionally taken from the 

 intestine of the animal, and is sometimes found 

 floating on the surface of the ocean. It was formerly 

 used as medicine, but is now employed exclusively 

 in perfumery, and commands a very high price. 



Adult bull Sperm Whales yield eighty to a hundred 

 barrels of sperm oil. 



This Whale is steadily decreasing in numbers, 

 and before long it will become extinct unless its 

 ruthless destruction by man for material gain is 

 checked. The extinction of Sperm and other 

 Whales will undoubtedly lead to a serious upsetting 

 of the balance of nature in the ocean, and in all 

 probability will adversely affect the human food- 

 supply from this source. 



Fossil remains of Sperm Whales have been found 

 in the Miocene and Pliocene portion of the Tertiary 

 geological period. 



LESSER SPERM WHALE 



(Kogia breviceps) 



The Lesser Sperm Whale only attains a length of 

 ID feet, and the teeth in the lower jaw are nine to 



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