1936] MAMMALS OF OREGON 337 



are occasionally found at the southern limits of their known range. 

 They are found at sea singly or in pairs or late in the season in 

 large numbers crowded together in herds or gams, indicating the 

 beginning of the migrations. 



Their manner of respiration is to " blow " 7 to 9 times at the sur- 

 face, sending up each time a spout or spray of exhaled air and vapor, 

 often mixed with the surface water, which is conspicuous from con- 

 siderable distance, and then to go down for 12 or 15 minutes. Some 

 believe that they can remain under water for an hour or more, but 

 proof of this is lacking. They are warm-blooded mammals and re- 

 quire the usual amount of oxj^gen for the blood. 



Breeding habits. So far as known the right whale does not come 

 to sheltered bays or shallows to bring forth her single young, but 

 gives birth to it wherever she happens to be in the open ocean. The 

 period of gestation is not definitely known, but is thought by the 

 whalers to be about a year. The frequency of breeding and rate of 

 increase are not known. 



Food habits. With their great fringed mouths these whales scoop 

 up vast quantities of plankton from the water and with a rising mo- 

 tion of the tongue force the water out between the fringes of whale- 

 bone at the sides of the mouth and swallow the plankton. Much of 

 this consists of a great variety of forms of plant and animal found 

 floating at or near the surface of the ocean. 



Economic status. Scammon states that the yield of oil by one of 

 these whales averages about 130 barrels, but that individuals have 

 yielded as much as 200 to 280 barrels, worth in the early days $10 

 to $20 a barrel. The yield of whalebone ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 

 pounds per whale, worth in 1911 $5 a pound. A large whale of this 

 species taken at San Simon, Calif., in 1883, was estimated in value 

 of oil and whalebone as worth ^$4,000 (Starks, 192, p. 8). A vast 

 world industry has been maintained for centuries by the whales, and 

 it would seem the part of wisdom to devise methods by which the 

 industry should be made permanent, and that none of the species be 

 exterminated or the valuable byproducts wasted. 



The whole group of whales, including the killers, porpoises, dol- 

 phins, blackfish, and grampuses, are greatly in need of further study, 

 both of specimens to show relationship and specific characters and 

 of the living animals to obtain more reliable data on migrations, 

 habits, breeding, food, and general economic value. Perhaps no 

 other great group of mammals is so little known or so difficult to 

 study, and for this reason every available bit of knowledge regarding 

 them should be carefully recorded and every specimen that will give 

 a clue to the species should be saved. Of course it is not possible to 

 collect many skulls or skeletons of the larger whales, but of the 

 porpoises and smaller cetaceans the skulls in many cases and the 

 whole skeletons in a few cases can be saved and sent to some of the 

 State or National museums, or information may be given that will 

 lead to securing such specimens. 



With the larger whales found stranded on the beaches refloating 

 near shore it is always important to report the animal with such 

 description as will lead to recognition of the species, and if desirable 

 to. securing the important parts of the specimen. If possible the 

 information should be telegraphed to the nearest public museum or 



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