78 SECRETS OF ANIMAL LIFE 



The particular whale we have discussed is prob- 

 ably not specifically distinguishable from the Black 

 Right Whale of the South Atlantic, but it is quite 

 different from the Greenland Whale or Bowhead, 

 Balcena mysticetus, which used to be the object of 

 the eager quest pursued by the whaling vessels 

 that went north from Dundee, Aberdeen, Peter- 

 head, and similar ports. But that is a story of the 

 past, for the Greenland Whale is now a rarity. In 

 the fascinating whale-room of the British Museum 

 we have seen the enormous lower jaws of one of 

 the largest of these magnificent creatures, which was 

 killed in 1887. It yielded 26 tons of oil and 26 cwt. 

 of whalebone. This Greenland Whale is entirely 

 Arctic; it is recorded as attaining a length of 70 

 feet; its head occupies a third of the body; its black 

 color is relieved by white below the jaw, and there 

 are various important structural differences between 

 it and its non-Arctic relative. Dr. F. E. Beddard, 

 a great authority on whales, tells us that the Green- 

 land Whale is " an extremely timid beast/' It has 

 been remarked that " a bird alighting upon its 

 back sometimes sets it off in great agitation and 

 terror." But we do well to be cautious with psy- 

 chological adjectives when speaking of whales. 

 For what do we know of the " terror " of this 

 marine Colossus, whose brain is of a very high 

 order? The timidity is probably in part a function 

 of the frequency of whalers. There is unanimity, 

 however, in the theoretical admiration of the 

 whale's parental solicitude. " It would do honor/' 



