WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 35 



whalers have found a station from which the Hump- 

 back can be hunted its extermination is easier than 

 that of any other species. The percentage of 

 Humpbacks, to total whales captured in the Ant- 

 arctic waters of the Falkland Dependencies, sank 

 from 968 in 1910-11 to 2-5 in 1917-18. 



On its breeding migration the Humpback moves 

 with great speed, keeping at the same time close to 

 the land. The migration westward of the Hump- 

 back along the Finmark coast, already referred to as 

 taking place in February and March, is that of 

 individuals coming from the east sea, where they 

 must have spent the winter. At this time the 

 females are nearly ready to give birth to their 

 young. The second appearance off the Finmark 

 coast is from June to August. In the meanwhile 

 they have been observed off the coast of North- West 

 Africa in April and May, where they are accom- 

 panied by the newly-born young. In their return 

 journey they pass the whaling stations off the Faroes 

 and Hebrides. Comparatively small numbers of 

 this species are killed by the whalers in Scottish 

 (Appendix V) and Irish (p. 281) waters. In 

 autumn, when the water becomes colder, the Hump- 

 back migrates northward into the eastern parts of 

 the northern sea, where it passes the winter, and 

 here its food consists partly of herring. 



A similar migration appears to take place on the 

 American side of the Atlantic, where the Humpback 

 is abundant in Greenland waters during summer 

 and early autumn. At its inception, whaling in 



