34 THE BRITISH MAMMALS : THEIR GENERA AND SPECIES. 



young, like those of the Greenland Seal, are born on the ice far 

 away from land, and generally in the month of March. It is con- 

 fined to the North Atlantic, and is said to be much fiercer in temper 



HOODED SEAL. 



(Cystophora cristatus.) 



than its kindred. Inflating his hood so as to make himself as formid- 

 able as possible, the male will fight to the last in defence of his 

 harem, for, unlike our other seals, he is polygamous. 



Delphinapterus. Plate xxiv. GET ACE A. 

 64. leucas, WHITE WHALE. Colour white, above and below. 



The White Whale, often known as the Beluga, a Russian name 

 given also by the Russians to the Giant Sturgeon, occasionally 

 appears in British waters, now and then, naturally enough, to be 



WHITE WHALE. 



(Delphinapierus leucas. 



caught in a salmon net, quinnat being the favourite food in pursuit 

 of which it travels hundreds of miles up the river Yukon in Alaska. 

 It has a rounded head with more or less of a neck, the head being 



