OCEANIC MAMMALS 477 



by about 1617, when the visiting crews turned their attention 

 more to whaling. About 1612 the walrus began to be inten- 

 sively pursued in the Spitsbergen Archipelago, and large num- 

 bers were killed. The pursuit, however, seems to have relaxed 

 considerably in succeeding centuries, although walruses at 

 times eked out cargoes of whale products. Captain Scoresby 

 in 1820 wrote that in his time "the Sea-horses range the coasts 

 of Spitzbergen almost without molestation from the British. 

 The Russians are their principal enemies who, by means of the 

 hunting parties sent out to winter on the coast, capture a con- 

 siderable number. The whale-fishers rarely take half a dozen 

 in a voyage; though my Father, in the last season, procured 

 about 130 in Magdalane Bay." Lamont in his "Seasons with 

 Sea-horses" has given an account of his experiences in hunting 

 walrus in Spitsbergen seas for sport in the middle of the last 

 century. The animals seem to be still present in numbers 

 about these islands and on the northwest coast of Nova 

 Zembla. No recent figures or estimates of the walrus popu- 

 lation are at hand, however. The remoteness of the regions 

 they inhabit and the small value of their tusks and oil probably 

 offer little inducement to their pursuit, so that for the present 

 they may be fairly safe. 



The food of the walrus is mainly clams, which they dig up 

 in shoal bottoms and, skilfully extracting the soft parts, re- 

 ject the shells. At times they will eat seals, which apparently 

 they capture for themselves, a curious cannibalistic trait. 



Order CETACEA: Whales, Porpoises, Dolphins 



Whales are highly modified for a pelagic life, with fishlike 

 bodily build, finlike front limbs, no hind limbs, and transversely 

 expanded tail-fin, or flukes. They are completely independent 

 of the land, although the young are usually born in shallow 

 bays rather than on the high seas. Two Recent suborders are 

 recognized. 



Odontoceti, toothed whales. These usually have numerous, 

 simple teeth, but some forms have very few (the male narwhal 

 has a single tooth, while the female has none that are func- 

 tional). Six families are distinguished: 



(1) Platanistidae, including only the fresh-water dolphin of 

 the Ganges River. These have a long, narrow snout, many 

 teeth, and vestigial eyes. 



