n82 THE CETACEANS 



whale will be circumpolar. In the North Atlantic, the southern limits of this species 

 may be approximately indicated by a line drawn from the coast of Lapland, in lati- 

 _. .. . tude 70, to the southern point of Iceland, and thence to the coast of 



Labrador, in latitude 55. In Behring Sea it is but seldom seen south 

 of latitude 55, while in the Sea of Okhotsk it ranges about i farther south. With 

 regard to the northern limits of this whale, there is some degree of uncertainty. 

 Captain Fielden is, however, of opinion that no whale could inhabit the frozen sea 

 lying to the north of Robeson channel, above Baffin bay, in latitude 82 N. , and 

 that none would be found in the neighborhood of the pole. This species undertakes 

 annual migrations of considerable extent, always traveling northward in summer as 

 the ice breaks up. Captain Scammon states that ' ' everything tends to prove that 

 Bal&na mysticetus is truly an 'ice whale,' for among the scattered floes, or about 

 the borders of the ice fields or barriers is its home and feeding ground. It is true 

 that these animals are pursued in the open water during the summer months, but in 

 no instance have we learned of their being captured south of where winter ice fields 

 are occasionally met with." 



The huge size of the mouth and the enormous development of the 



baleen in this species is in correlation with the nature of the food, 

 which is composed mainly of small shrimp-like crustaceans and swimming mollusks 

 belonging to the group known as pteropods; a vast number of such minute creatures 

 being necessary to afford sustenance to an animal of the dimensions of the Greenland 

 whale. When feeding, these whales swim near the surface of the water, with the 

 nostrils and a portion of the middle of the back showing above. Captain Scammon, 

 writing about twenty years ago, says "they are often met with singly in their wan- 

 derings; at other times in pairs or triplets, and scattered over the surface of the 

 water as far as the eye can discern from the masthead. Toward the end of the 

 season they are seen in large numbers, crowded together. These herds are called 

 ' gams, ' and they are regarded by experienced whalemen as an indication that the 

 whales will soon leave the ground. Their manner of respiration is to blow seven to 

 nine times at a 'rising,' then 'turning flukes' (elevating them six to eight 

 feet out of the water), they go down and remain twelve or fifteen minutes." Cap- 

 tain Gray states, however, that he has known a whale when harpooned to stay under 

 water for fifty minutes. 



There is still some degree of uncertainty as to the breeding habits of the Green- 

 land whale. Dr. R. Brown states that the pairing season is from June to August, 

 and that the young are born in the following March, April, and May. Some other 

 writers have, however, considered that the period of gestation is thirteen or four- 

 teen months. The single offspring is believed to be suckled for about a year, dur- 

 ing which time the baleen is gradually developed. The affection of the female 

 parent for her young is most intense, and if she be captured there is little difficulty 

 in securing her offspring. 



The Greenland whale is a peaceful and timid animal, and appears never to 

 attack the boats of its pursuers. The accidents which occur in hunting this species 

 are mainly due either to its descending suddenly to great depths when first wounded 

 whereby the boat may be swamped or dragged under water, or by a too close 



