SPERM WHALE I3I 



and grows to a maximum of sixty feet, but in the baleen 

 family it is the females that are the larger of the two sexes, 

 sometimes reaching a length of over a hundred feet. The 

 sperm whale does not feed on the myriad minute creatures 

 that live on the surface of the sea but upon the giant 

 cuttlefish which it can only reach by diving to the ocean 

 bed and which it first has to fight and kill. There are 

 many reports of torn and crooked jaws found in sperm 

 whales and it is fairly certain that these injuries were 

 acquired during their struggles with their prey. For this 

 task nature has equipped the sperm whale with a row of 

 sharp teeth set on either side of its sword-shaped lower 

 jaw and each tooth, which can weigh up to four pounds in 

 weight, fits, when the mouth is closed, into a socket in the 

 upper jaw which has only a few small vestigial teeth. 

 Whereas the two close-set nostrils or blowholes of the 

 baleen whales are set well back on the top of the head the 

 sperm whale's are set nearer the fore part of the head and 

 only the left one is active. The females with their young 

 wander in schools like herds of cattle from one feeding 

 ground to another and the polygamous males battle with 

 one another for mastery of the schools, the defeated bulls 

 often retiring to the polar regions; and although the 

 schools are found in the colder seas too it is the tropical 

 and sub-tropical regions that they prefer most. 



This whale obtains its name from the unique spermaceti 

 oil which can be extracted in liquid form from a large 

 reservoir in its head. Before the days of electricity this oil 

 fetched a higher price than any other whale-oil by reason 

 of its fine quality and the bright smokeless light that it 

 gave. To-day one of its uses is the lubrication of fine 

 machinery such as typewriters and sewing machines. 



Its function in the whale's body is believed to be the 

 hydrostatic control of the breathing tubes when the head 

 is subjected to the enormous pressure on the ocean beds. 



The eyes set on each side of the head are no bigger than 



