472 



THE NATIONAL OKOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



SPERM WHALE, OR CACHALOT 

 (Physeter macrocephalus) 



The cachalot is from 40 to 60 feet long, about 

 equaling the Greenland bowhead whale in size. 

 It has a huge blunt head, which comprises 

 about one-third of the entire animal. The 

 mouth is large and the under jaw is provided 

 with a row of heavy teeth, consisting of ivory 

 liner in gram than that from an elephant's tusk. 



The great whaling industry of the last two 

 centuries was based mainly on the sperm and 

 the bowhead whales. The largest of the bow- 

 heads is limited to the cold northern waters, 

 but the sperm whale frequents the tropic and 

 subtropic seas around the globe. The mnin 

 hunting area for them lies in the South Pacific, 

 but they frequently visit more temperate coasts, 

 especially when seeking sheltered bays, where 

 their young may be born. The young are 

 suckled and guarded carefully until old enough 

 to be left to their own devices. Sperm whales 

 sometimes occur off both coasts of the United 

 States, especially off southern California. 



The feeding grounds of these whales are 

 mainly in the deepest parts of the ocean, 

 where they cruise about in irregular schools 

 containing a number of individuals. Their 

 food consists almost entirely of large octopuses 



and giapt squids, which are swallowed in large 

 sections. 



As befits a gigantic mammal possessing hvige 

 jaws armed with rows of fighting teeth, the 

 sperm whale is a much more pugnacious ani 

 mal than the bowhead. There are many rec- 

 ords of whale-boats being smashed by them, 

 and several well-authenticated cases of enraged 

 bull cachalots having charged and crushed in 

 the sides of whaling ships, causing them speed- 

 ily to founder. 



The sperm whale yields oil of a better quality 

 than the bowhead. Its huge head always con- 

 tains a considerable nunil)er of barrels of spe- 

 cially fine-grade oil, which produces the sper- 

 maceti of commerce. Ambergris, having an 

 excessively high value for use in the manufac- 

 ture of certain perfumes, is a product occa- 

 sionally formed in the digestive tract of the 

 sperm whale. 



The name cachalot is one to conjure with. 

 It brings up visions of three-year voyages to 

 the famed South Seas, pahn-bedecked coral 

 islands, and idyllic days with dusky islanders. 

 As in the case of the Greenland bowhead, how- 

 ever, this animal has been hunted until only a 

 small fraction of its former numbers survives 

 and the romantic days of its pursuit are gone, 

 never to return. 



THE LARGER NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS 



INDF.X TO TEXT AND ILLUSTRATION PAGES 



Ilhis- 

 'I'ext t ration 

 Ijago. pase. 



-ViUi'loije, ri-onj;-lii)rii 452 451 



IJadger 420 419 



I'.ear, Alaskan Urowii — i Froiitiniiicic) 441 



Bear, Klack 437 439 



r.tai-, ("iiniainoii oi- P.Iack 437 439 



lU-ar, (ilacier 437 439 



Wear, (Jrizzly 440 442 



W^i; I'olar 436 438 



Iteaver, Araerienn 441 443 



lU-luya or While Wliaio 46S 470 



I'.ison, Aiiicrif'an, or Buffalo 461 463 



r.()l)ca( or Bay Lyn.\: 409 411 



Bowhrad or Greenland Kight Whale.. 469 471 



Buffalo or American Bison 461 463 



Cachalot, or Sperm Whale 4.72 471 



('aril)Oii, Barren (! round 460 422 



('aril)oii, Woodland 460 459 



Caribou, I'eary. or Barren Croiuid. 460 422 



Cat, .Ia^:narLindi, or I^yra 413 415 



Coyote, Arizona or Moarns 424 423 



Coyote. Mearns or Arizona 424 423 



Coyote, I'lains. or I'rairie Wolf 424 423 



Deer, Arizona While-tailed 457 458 



Deer, Black-tailed 456 4,55 



1 )wr. Mule 453 4.55 



Deer, Virsrinia or While-tailed 456 458 



Deer, White-tailed 456, 457 458 



lOlk, American 453 454 



lOyra or Jaguannidi Cat 413 415 



IMshor or I'ekan 444 446 



Kox. Alaska Ued 417 418 



Kox, Arctic or White 425 426 



Fox, (^ros.s 417 418 



I'^ox, Desert 420 419 



Kox, (!rav 417 419 



Wax, I'rihilof Blue 4.''5 426 



Kox, Ued - 416 418 



I'"ox, Silver ..•.....-. 417 418 



Fox. While or Arctic 425 426 



Coat, IJockv Monnlain 452 451 



.lagnar 413 414 



lllus- 

 Text t ration 

 page. page. 



Lion, Jlountain 412 414 



Lynx, Bay 409 411 



Lynx. Canada 409 411 



Manati. I<'l(>rid;i 465 467 



.^loosi' 461 462 



^Lisliho'.;- or Feccary 443 447 



:\[usk-(>x 464 466 



Ocelots or Tiger-cats 416 415 



Opossum, Virginia 408 410 



Otter 445 446 



Otter. Sea 432 434 



Focc'ary, Collared, or .Miiskhog 448 447 



Fekan or Fisher 444 446 



Kaccoon 40S 410 



Sea-elephant. Xorlhcrn. or 101(>|iluint 



Seal 432 434 



Sea-lion. Stellei- 429 431 



Seal, Alaska Fur 429 431 



Seal, lOlephant, or Sea-elephant 432 434 



Seal, Creenland, or llai-p Seal 433 435 



Seal, Ilarhor 433 435 



Seal, Harp, Saddle-back, or Creenhiiid 433 435 



Seal. I-eopard, or Harbor Seal 433 4.35 



Seal, Bibbon 436 438 



Seal, Saddle-back, or Harp Seal 433 435 



Slieei). Dall :\I()nnl;un 449 450 



Sheei), Uockv .Mounlaiii 448 447 



Sheei). Stone Mountain 449 450 



Tis;er-cats or Ocelots 416 415 



Walrus. Facific 428 430 



Wapiti or American Elk 453 454 



Whale, <;reenland lUght or Bowhead. 469 471 



Whale, Killer <16S 470 



Whale, Sperm, or Cachalot 472 471 



Whale. White or Beluga 468 470 



Wolf. Arctic White 421 422 



Wolf, B.lack 423 



Wolf, (irav or Timber 421 423 



Wolf, I'rairie, or Flains Cdvole 424 423 



Wolf. Timber or Crav 421 423 



Wolverine 428 427 



