223 TYPES OF ANIMAL LIFE 



white crystallised appearance which spermaceti presents. 

 The cachalot feeds mainly on cuttle-fishes, but also eats 

 true fishes, even of considerable size. 



The bottle-nosed whale, or hyperoodon, is a curious 

 form which has only two teeth in the front of the lower 

 jaw, and these are concealed in the gum. It agrees with 

 the sperm whale in carrying a large quantity of spermaceti, 

 yielding oil, in the upper part of its head, and blubber 

 producing sperm oil. It attains a length of thirty feet, 

 though females do not exceed twenty-four feet. Captain 

 Gray tells us that these whales are occasionally met 

 with westward, near the Shetland Isles, in March, and 

 across the Atlantic Ocean until the ice is reached, 

 near the margin of which they are found in the greatest 

 numbers ; but they are seldom seen among it. They are 

 also to be met with from the entrance of Hudson's 

 Straits and up Da vis's Straits as far as 70 North latitude, 

 and down the east side round Cape Farewell, all round 

 Iceland, north along the Greenland ice to 77 North 

 latitude, and also to 19 East longitude. From the fact 

 that they are not seen in summer further south than a 

 day's sail from the ice, it would appear that they migrate 

 south in the autumn, and north again in the spring. 

 They are gregarious in their habits, going in herds of 

 from four to ten. It is rare to see more than the latter 

 number together, although many different herds are 

 frequently in sight at the same time. The adult males 

 very often go by themselves, but young bulls, cows, and 

 calves, with an old male as a leader, are sometimes seen 

 together. They are very unsuspicious, coming close 

 alongside a ship, round about and underneath the boats, 

 until their curiosity is satisfied. The herd never leaves 

 a wounded companion so long as it is alive, but they 

 desert it immediately when dead, and if another can 



