")') WILD I.IFK IN M-]\V ZKA1.ANL). 



him into two portions, which he prompilv swallowed. Then, with a 

 terrific lash of his tail, IK- came down on one of the killers, and 

 ''crushed it like a shrimp under one's heel. 11 Here is Bnllen's 

 conclusion : " The survivor fled never faster for an avalanrhe 

 of living furious Mesh was l>ehind him. and coming with enormous 

 haps half out of the s:-a every time. Thus they disappeared, but 

 I have no doubt as to ihe issue. Of one tiling 1 am certain : that 

 if any of the trio survived they never afterwards attempted to rush 

 a cachalot." Bullen is rather mixed in this narrative. According 

 to a Dr. Frangius, " When. an Ore a pursues a whale the latter makes 

 a terrible bellowing, like a bull when bitten by a dog." He may 

 be referring to a Right Whale, for certainly his remark does not 

 apply to the Sperm Whale, which is a dangerous foe to all its 

 enemies. 



The ('owlish ('/'// />/'//;.< tnrxin] is a beaked whale, some 12ft. 

 long, which has been taken in New Zealand waters. The colour of 

 the hark varies from black to lead-colour, while the under-parts 

 are white. It is a species of world-wide range. 



So is the last of the whales which I shall mention, the Black fish 

 (','//>/('< /I/KI/HX melas), known in the Hebrides and the west of 

 Scotland as the " ca'ing whale." This is one of the largest of the 

 dolphins, reaching some 20ft. in length. It is a gregarious species, 

 moving about in great schools or shoals. Its sheep-like habits 

 enable it to be easily driven on shore in herds, when the animals 

 are easilv harpooned. Schools of Blacktish not (infrequently visit 

 the inlets and shores of the North of Auckland. Bullen gives an 

 account of an attack on an immense school of Blackfish which the 

 "Cachalot" encountered when near Christmas Island in the mid- 

 I'acitic. 



Any one interested in the natural history of the sen will find 

 the study of its cetaceans is still in a very incomplete state. Few 

 people know anything about them scientifically, because their occur- 

 rence and the opportunity of studying them at first hand are so 

 rratic and rare. When a whale comes ashore it is usually in some 

 inaccessible place, and if the fact is communicated to a museum 

 the finder usually places a considerable price on his discovery, which 

 makes the investigation too expensive to be undertaken. When 

 our fisheries are properly organi/ed it will be possible to study the 

 <-ati fauna much more closely and accurately than is at present 

 the 01 



