HOW BALEEN WHALES GET THEIR FOOD 141 



the group known as pteropods (ter'o-pods) which float in 

 myriads on or near the surface of the sea. To enable the sea- 

 monster to feed upon these very small organisms, and secure 

 them in a wholesale way, the roof of the mouth is provided 

 with two great masses of thin, horny plates set edgewise on 

 each side, and very close together. The lower edges of these 

 plates (of "whalebone") are frayed out into a mass of what 

 looks like coarse, bristly hair, and these frayed edges unite 

 into a web of filaments as long and as wide as the whole in- 

 side of the mouth. 



In feeding, the whale swims through a mass of floating 

 pteropods, with its mouth open; and the fringe of the baleen, 

 hanging down upon the sides of the lower jaw, forms a perfect 

 strainer for catching even the smallest creatures afloat. The 

 pteropods gather in a mass on the tongue, and presently are 

 swallowed. When the mouth is shut, the plates of baleen 

 fold in diagonally. 



Captain David Gray has stated that sometimes the 

 whale finds its food under water, at a depth of from sixty to 

 ninety feet. In gathering it the animal dives, holds its 

 breath like any air-breathing animal, and after an interval 

 reappears at the surface to breathe, swallow the food collected, 

 and rest before diving again. When whales are feeding in 

 this manner, it is comparatively easy for whalers to approach 

 them within striking distance and harpoon them. 



One of the most astonishing statements recorded of this 

 animal is that sometimes when harpooned, and sometimes in 

 sport as well, it leaps out of the water for practically its entire 

 length! Captain Scammon states that a pair of Sulphur- 



