SCANDINAVIAN CETACEA. 293 



1829. A dead specimen of this whale was found floating in the sea off Revel in 1851.^ The 

 humpbacked whale, which in Greenlandic is called Kepokak, is, according to Eschricht, the 

 most common of all the whalebone whales in Davis Strait. It appears there and off the coast 

 of Greenland during the latter part of April, and migrates generally in November. It goes south 

 during the winter. When near the coasts it generally feeds upon Osmerus ardicus, Gadus agilis, 

 Ammodytes tobianiis scuåLimacina arctica, and the smaller Crustaceans (Copepods). It is said to 

 spout out the vapour from its blow-holes with less force than i\iQ Balænopteræ and the Greenland 

 whale. While swimming aboiit and not searching for food, it dives often, but comes soon up 

 again ; but when it dives in search of food it remains under water much longer. It often, during 

 calm weather, rests quietly on the surface of the water, sometimes lying on one side, beating 

 itself with its pectoral fins, as if trying to rub away something that annoyed it. It sometimes 

 jumps quite out of the water, turns round in the air, and falls on its back, beating itself with the 

 pectorals. It appears, at times, quite fearless, and swims round about the boats quite near to 

 them, as if they were its comrades. The young follows the mother until she brings forth another, 

 which is said not to take place every year, as very large young ones are sometimes seen 

 with the mothers. They protect their young with the greatest care, and are then more daring 

 and more dangerous than usual. In order to induce the young to dive when a boat approaches, 

 the mother strikes hard on the water with the tail, and may then easily upset a boat if too near. 

 The mother often succeeds in taking the young down with her, even if it is severely wounded, and 

 she then grasps it with her pectoral fins. A young one was once caught at Gotthaab (Greenland) 

 which still followed the mother, although it was much larger than B. rostrata ever grows. The 

 mother was for several days seen swimming about in the same bay with the greatest anxiety, and 

 often running into the narrow sound, where the blubber had been taken from her young. Her 

 sudden jumps and a peculiar way in which she spouted, often with an audible bellowing sound, 

 plainly indicated her grief. The Greenlanders hunt it by creeping close to it, while it lies 

 quietly, and stab it with lances, trying to pierce the heart. It sometimes dies immediately if 

 they succeed in this. If not it dives directly, but comes soon up again, when the hunters again 

 pursue it, and wound it with lances until it dies. These attacks are made in the bays. When 

 it tries to escape efforts are made to prevent it from getting out into the open sea,^ and when 

 killed it is towed ashore by several boats. It happens sometimes that, when killed, it imme- 

 diately sinks to the bottom, in which case the body again rises to the surface in a few days, 

 if not devoured by the large and ravenous sharks {Scymnus microcephalus, Bl.), according ta 

 Fabricius and Holboll (in Eschricht). It is infested with external parasites of the order of 

 Curripeds, which are not found on the Balcenopteræ. These are the Diadema halænaris, and on 

 this is the Otion auritum. It has also a peculiar species of Cyamus (Liitken). These Cirripeds 

 are found in the folds under the throat, at the navel, and on the tail. The Greenlanders are of 

 the opinion that it is even born with similar parasites (Eschricht). 



^ [A young female, 31' long, was stranded in the estuary of the Dee in 1863. The skeleton is 

 now preserved in the Derby Museum at Liverpool. See J. E. Gray " On the British Cetacea." 

 'Proc. Zool. Soc.,' 1864, p. 211.— W. H. P.] 



- This seems to denote that it is less active than the Balænopteræ, as would also appear from its. 

 thicker and heavier form of body. 



