316 Recreations of a Sportsman 



a little ripple in front of it, or the sharp fins of 

 a band of yellowtail, or the larger and sharper 

 point of the leaping tuna's fin. 



But all these fade into insignificance before 

 the splendid knife-like fin, five or six feet long, 

 of the killer. It commands the attention at once, 

 telling of big and ponderous game; and if you 

 closely watch it, you can tell fairly well what 

 the big creature is doing. Generally they swim 

 in a line, but occasionally they came on side 

 by side; and once when very near, the big 

 fin turned at an angle against the smallest 

 and it was evident that the orca, possibly twenty 

 feet long, was pressing near or against its young, 

 recognizing the presence of danger, as the orcas 

 must have seen the boat. 



While the killers are murderous in their at- 

 tacks on their own kind they never, so far as 

 known, attack men, and the game of their choice 

 seems to be the great whalebone whales. One 

 of the most remarkable fights ever observed in 

 California waters occurred at Avalon Bay where 

 an acquaintance of mine saw several orcas at- 

 tack a large whalebone whale and kill it by 

 tearing away its lips and tongue. He described 

 the scene as a pack of wolves about some stricken 

 animal. 



A strange contrast this, to the sedate and 

 dignified actions of the trio which the Chief 

 Forester fired at on the hot day off San Cle- 



