THE PLAYFUL HUMPBACK 



ing the space between the rows of baleen, expels the 

 water in streams, leaving only the little shrimp which 

 have been strained out by the bristles on the inner side 

 of the whalebone plates. 



The fins and one lobe of the flukes are thrust into 

 the air as the mouth is closed, and sometimes the 

 animal rolls from side to side. At this time the whales 

 are careless of danger and pay not the slightest at- 

 tention to a ship. The quantity of shrimp eaten by 

 a single whale is enormous. I have taken as much 

 as four barrels from the stomach of a blue whale 

 which even then was by no means full. Probably 

 when shrimp are very scarce or are not obtainable, 

 all the fin whales eat small fish, but during the last 

 eight years I have personally examined the stomachs 

 of several hundred finners and found fish in only 

 four or five individuals. 



Humpbacks, like all the large whales, show great 

 affection for their young and many touching stories 

 are told of their devotion. If a female with her 

 calf is seen the whalemen know that both can be se- 

 cured and often shoot the calf first, if it is of fair 

 size, for the mother will not leave her dead baby. 



This affection is reciprocated by the calf, as the fol- 

 lowing incident, related by J. G. Millais, Esq., will 

 show: 



Captain Nilsen, of the whaler St. Lawrence, was hunting 

 in Hermitage Bay, Newfoundland, in June, 1903, when he 

 came up to a huge cow humpback and her calf. After get- 

 ting "fast" to the mother and seeing that she was exhausted, 

 Captain Nilsen gave the order to lower the "pram" for the 



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