lO 



WHALES AND DOLPHINS. 



inhabitants of the Faroe Islands. On the 

 7th of January, 181 2, a shoal of these animals 

 was stranded at Paimpol in Brittany, after 

 the fishermen had driven the leader ashore, 

 where he bellowed like a bull. The shoal 

 consisted of 7 males, 5 1 females, and 1 2 suck- 

 lings. One of these animals lived five days 

 in a bay, which he could not leave on account 

 of the shallowness of the water at the mouth. 



The Beluga or White Whale {^Beluga 

 leticas), fig. 138, is very like the previous 

 species as regards the form of the head and 

 body, but the flippers are much shorter and 

 the dorsal fin is altogether wanting. With 

 reference to this character the name Delphin- 

 apterus (" finless dolphin") has been chosen 

 by some as the name of the genus. The 

 dentition is likewise similar to that of the 



Fig. 138. — The Beluga or Wliite Whale [Beluga leiicas). 



pilot-whale, only the teeth are not so numerous, 

 and they are very apt to be lost with the 

 advance of age, especially in the upper jaw. 

 The whole body is of a brilliant whitish- 

 yellow colour. 



This beautiful dolphin, which may attain a 

 length of 20 feet, and always lives in shoals, 

 is the ornament of the western parts of the 

 Arctic Ocean from Behring's Strait to Green- 

 land. It seldom comes south, and yet in the 

 year 181 3 one was observed making itself 

 quite at home in the Firth of Forth near 

 Edinburgh, traversing the estuary at every 

 tide, till at last it was killed by a bullet. 

 Like the pilot-whale the beluga feeds on 

 cephalopods and small fishes. Europeans do 



not attack it, and even hail its approach to 

 the ships with joy, in the conviction that 

 whales are to be found near. The Eskimo 

 and Aleutians, on the other hand, esteem the 

 flesh of the beluga very highly, both when 

 fresh and when cured, and they therefore try 

 to catch the animal in nets. According to 

 them the beluga is accompanied by shoals of 

 herring, cod, and flat-fish, which serve it as 

 food. 



The Narwhal {^Monodon monoceros), fig. 

 139, resembles the beluga in the form of its 

 head and body, as well as in the absence of 

 the dorsal fin. The flipper is short and 

 pointed, the tail pretty long, the tail fin very 

 large and deeply lobed. The body is yellowish- 



