WHALE HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA 



and the epiglottis fits into the soft palate, thereby 

 forming a continuous passage between the nostrils and 

 the trachea, or windpipe, and entirely shutting off the 

 nasal passages from the mouth. In this way a whale 

 can swim with its mouth open, when feeding, with- 

 out danger of being strangled by getting water into 

 the breathing organs. 



The blowholes, or nostrils, have been pushed back- 

 ward and upward to open on the top of the head in- 

 stead of at the end of the snout. This is an adapta- 

 tion to aquatic life, which is also seen in other water 

 mammals, for in this way the nostrils are almost 

 the first part of the body to appear at the surface 

 and the whale can begin to breathe immediately upon 

 rising. 



Although all the fin whales have two nostrils, the 

 spout ascends in a single column, which, in the hump- 

 back, is from twelve to fifteen feet high. The cloud 

 of vapor is narrow at the base but spreads out at 

 once, forming a low bushy column which rapidly drifts 

 away. 



The height and density of the spout in all whales 

 depends upon the animal's size and the length of time 

 it has been below. If the whale has been submerged 

 but a brief period, as during surface dives, a com- 

 paratively small quantity of air is expelled and the 

 breath has not had time to become highly heated; 

 consequently the column will be low and thin. 



The first spout after sounding is usually the high- 

 est and fullest. I have seen humpbacks, which had 

 been badly wounded, lying at the surface close to 



44 



