474 ACCOUNT OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 



barnacles, (Lepas Diadema, &c.) while those of the 

 arctic seas are free from these shell-fish. 



It would be remarkable, if an animal like the 

 whale, which is so timid that a bird alighting up- 

 on its back sometimes sets it off in great agitation 

 and terror, should be wholly devoid of enemies, 

 Besides man, who is doubtless its most formidable 

 adversary, it is subject to annoyance from sharks, 

 and it is also said from the narwal, sword-fish and 

 thrasher. With regard to the narwal, I am per- 

 suaded, that this opinion is incorrect, for so far 

 from its being an enemy, it is found to associate 

 with the whale with the greatest apparent harmony, 

 and its appearance indeed in the Greenland sea is 

 hailed by the fishers, ^the narwal being considered 

 as the harbinger of the whale. But the sword- 

 fish and thrasher (if such an animal there be) may 

 possibly be among the enemies of the whale, not- 

 withstanding I have never witnessed their com- 

 bats ; and the shark is known certainly to be an 

 enemy, though, perhaps, not a very formidable 

 one. AYhales, indeed, flee the seas where it 

 abounds, and evince, by marks occasionally found on 

 their tails, a strong evidence of their having been 

 bit by the shark. A living whale may be annoyed, 

 though it can scarcely be supposed to be ever over^. 

 come by the shark ; but a dead whale is an easy 

 prey, and affords a fine banquet to this insatiably 

 creature. 



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