THE WOLF OF THE SEA 



belongs to a shark and grampus to a species of porpoise 

 ( Grampus griseus) . 



The trident-shaped area of white, the white spots 

 behind the eyes, and the enormous dorsal fin are very 

 conspicuous on the black body, and the animal may be 

 recognized at a long distance; foetal specimens have 

 orange-buff where the adult is white. 



The killer can swim at a tremendous speed and be- 

 cause of the nature of its food the sounds and bays 

 along the coast which swarm with every variety of 

 marine life are more frequently its feeding grounds 

 than the open sea. 



Scammon says that the killer is a menace to even the 

 full-grown walrus, especially when pups are with their 

 parents. He states that sometimes the young walrus 

 will mount upon its mother's back to avoid the killer 

 and that then "the rapacious orca quickly dives, and, 

 coming up under the parent animal, with a spiteful 

 thud throws the young one from the dam's back into 

 the water, when in a twinkling it is seized, and, with 

 one crush, devoured by its adversary." l 



The killer's habit of forcing open a whale's mouth 

 and eating the tongue from the living animal, is an 

 extraordinary method of attack which has long been 

 recorded by the whalemen who hunted the Arctic bow- 

 head. I must confess, however, that I had always been 

 skeptical as to the accuracy of this report until my 

 own experiences with the gray whales in Korea, w r here 

 its truth was clearly demonstrated. 



1 (/. c., P. 92.) 



221 



