FLORA AND FAUNA 



especially near the Balleny Islands. It is the largest 

 mammal and sometimes occurs nearly one hundred feet 

 long. It is characterized by a broad blue slate-colored 

 back with a small dorsal fin. Its spout rises twelve or 

 fifteen feet into the air. On our return in March, 

 1 912, WT sighted a school of eight sperm whales, but 

 we were then in New Zealand waters. The humpback 

 whale is said to reach a length of sixty feet. It earns 

 its name from the low dorsal fin. The back is black, 

 the belly yellowish, and the flippers white. There are 

 two other finner whales to be met with in the Ross 

 Sea. One is round-backed, black, solitary, and twenty 

 feet long. It has a very small hooklike dorsal fin. 

 The other is gregarious and has an enormous dorsal 

 fin two or three feet long. It is black above and lighter 

 beneath. I shall refer further to these mammals in 

 the following chapter. 



Seals. — There are five species of seals to be seen 

 fairly often in or near East Antarctica ; of these three 

 commonly occur south of the Antarctic Circle. The 

 huge sea elephant (Macrorhinits) js very abundant at 

 Macquarie Island (latitude 54° S.) but only one or two 

 specimens have ever been known to wander down to 

 the Antarctic. The sea leopard (Sfenorhynctts) is a 

 solitary animal and is not uncommon at Cape Adare, 

 though I only saw one specimen as far south as Ross 

 Island (78° S. ). The sea leopard is about twelve feet 

 long and has almost a snakelike appearance owing to its 

 slender shape, which enables it to swim remarkably 

 quickly. Its diet consists of fish, penguins, and even 



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