lO 



Feeding 



THOSE WHO REGARD the elephant as a giant among beasts would 

 be surprised to learn that it is a mere dwarf compared with some 

 extinct reptiles. Thus, we know from fossils that the 70-foot Bronto- 

 saurus weighed at least 30 tons, and Branchiosaurus probably as much as 

 50 tons, i.e. the weight of a Centurion tank, while elephants weigh a 

 maximum of 10 tons and an average of only 4 tons. But of all animals the 

 biggest is alive to this day - the Blue Whale, great numbers of which are 

 still caught every year. Blue Whales can grow to 100 feet and weigh up to 

 135 tons, i.e. the weight of four Brontosauri, more than thirty elephants, 

 or 1,600 men (Fig. 131). Now, 1,600 men make up the population of a 

 village, and one whale could supply that village with all the fat it needs, 

 i.e. the equivalent of the annual fat yield of the milk of 275 cows. 



The record is held by a Blue Whale which tipped the scales at 2,684 cwt. 

 (136-4 tons). When it was caught on 27th January, 1948, by the Japanese 

 whaler Hashidate Maru, it proved to be a cow of 'only' 90 feet, so that it 

 seems likely that others are heavier still, even though this particular cow 

 was exceptionally fat. 



The average adult Blue Whale weighs 106 tons and is 85 feet long. The 

 average size of the catch is, however, less, since a great many captured 

 whales have not yet attained physical maturity. The average adult Fin 

 Whale, 72 feet long, weighs 58 tons (maximum weight 70 tons). The 

 figures for the Sei Whale are 13 tons average weight, 48 tons maximum 

 (length 47 feet) ; for the male Sperm Whale 33 and 53 tons respectively 

 (length 47 feet) ; and for the female Sperm Whale 13 and 14 tons respec- 

 tively (length 37 feet). All these whales, while much smaller than Blue 

 Whales, are considerably larger than elephants. 



An elephant would never be able to support such weights unless it took 

 to the water. In the last chapter we have seen that the heavier an animal, 

 the smaller its relative surface area. Now the power of the legs and of the 

 muscles which help to support the animal is principally a function of the 



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