566 



THE WHALES. 



The upper skin is thin, of dense texture and vel- 

 vety softness, comparable to leather saturated with 

 oil, and under it lies the layer of blubber, from eight 

 to eighteen inches in thickness. 



Range and Habits The Greenland Whale inhabits the 

 of Greenland highest latitudes of the Atlantic and 

 Whales. Pacific Oceans and the Arctic Ocean 

 proper, but takes up no permanent abode. It is at- 

 tracted by the ice to a greater extent than any other 

 species of Whale, and of its own accord selects its 

 haunts in the immediate neighborhood of the ice 

 fields, and wanders south or north in seasons coinci- 

 dent with the formation or thaw of the ice. It not 

 only leaves a locality where the ice melts, but un- 

 doubtedly also travels through great distances under 

 the ice, as it has been found amidst immense ice- 

 fields, in which, in order to breathe, it was obliged to 

 rise to one of the few crevices formed by the ebb 

 and flow of the tide. 



The Greenland Whale is gregarious. Generally it 

 is found associated only in small groups of three or 

 four, but during its more extended migrations it may 

 collect into schools composed of large numbers. 

 Experienced Whalers report that generally Whales 

 of the same age consort, young and old forming 

 separate troops. 



Physical and Men- The movements of these animals are 

 tal Attributes of of an irregular character, but by no 

 Greenland Whales, means slow or heavy. "Clumsy as 

 the Whale's body apparently is," says Scoresby, "its 

 movements are quick and agile; it can put itself be- 

 yond the reach of its pursuers in five or six seconds. 

 So great a speed, however, can be maintained only 

 for a few minutes. Sometimes it darts upwards to 

 the surface of the water with such force that it 

 springs beyond it; sometimes it stands on its head, 

 lifting its tail into the air, and lashing the water 

 with terrific violence. The noise which this lashing 

 causes may be heard at a great distance in calm 

 weather, and the circles made in the water expand to 

 a considerable width. When it is pierced by a har- 

 poon, it dives toward the bottom, as straight as an 

 arrow, and though this direction can be maintained 

 for only a few minutes, the action is performed with 

 a speed and force that sometimes, in shallow places, 

 causes it to break its jaws in a collision with the 

 ground." 



There is not much to say about the higher attri- 

 butes of this Whale. Among the perceptive senses 

 those of sight and touch alone seem to be fairly de- 

 veloped; but it may be reasonably supposed that the 

 organs of sense are sufficiently effective so long as 

 the animal remains under water, and are deficient 

 only when called on to perform their functions in the 

 -air. 



In serene weather this Whale has been observed 

 in its sleep. It lies then on the surface of the water, 

 like a dead body, without moving, the extremity of 

 its head lifted above the waves; it breathes quietly, 

 without throwing up a jet, and keeps its balance 

 ■with its flippers. 



As a rule, the female gives birth to one, or in rare 

 •cases two young, usually in March or April. The in- 

 fant Whale nurses for a long time, perhaps a whole 

 year, the mother lying on her side while suckling it. 

 Its growth is exceedingly rapid, and a nursing Whale 

 attains a length of at least twenty feet, a girth of 

 thirteen feet four inches and a weight of twelve 

 thousand pounds. According to all accounts the 

 mother is devotedly attached to her progeny and 

 tends and defends it with solicitude. 



Economic Value of The value of the carcass of a 

 the Greenland slain Greenland Whale is very 

 Whale. great. The average production of 



the animal is from 12,000 to 15,000 quarts of oil and 

 from 1,400 to 2,000 pounds of baleen. According 

 to the very variable prices of oil and whalebone, 

 the average value of a Greenland Whale amounts 

 to five thousand dollars; a large Whale, however, 

 may bring in double that sum. The greater part 

 of the profit generally comes from the baleen, 

 which no other species of Whale possesses in such 

 excellent quality. The flesh can not be said to be 

 altogether uneatable; French ship-cooks know how 

 to prepare it remarkably well. The people of the 

 high northern latitudes have no scruples about eat- 

 ing it, and they habitually consume the blubber. 

 Enemies of the Besides Man the formidable Gram- 

 Greenland Whale pus or Killer Whale is probably the 

 and their Inroads, only other foe to attack a Greenland 

 Whale. It is apparently greatly annoyed, however, 

 by various parasites, which prey upon its body. The 

 so-called Whale Lice, a genus of crustaceans, some- 

 times take up their abode on it by hundreds of thou- 

 sands and cause such ravages on its back that one 

 might think it suffered from a malignant disease. 

 Sea acorns or Barnacles also sometimes cover it in 

 large numbers and form suitable points of attach- 

 ment for various aquatic plants, so that there are 

 Whales which are obliged to carry a miniature 

 world of animals about on themselves. 



Though a constant decrease in the number of 

 Whales can not be denied, we are hardly warranted 

 in believing that the Greenland Whale will be exter- 

 minated for some time. Its inhospitable native 

 waters still contain a number of refuges inaccessi- 

 ble to ships and preserve the species from the total 

 extinction which would otherwise be its lot. 



Zbe ^ootbeb Mbales. 



SECOND SUBORDER: Denticete. 



The remarkabre difference in dentition between 

 the Whales has led to the division of the Cetacea 

 into two suborders, one of which, as we have seen, 

 comprises animals which are toothless, having the 

 place of the teeth supplied by a substance, baleen, 

 popularly known as "whalebone," which is peculiar 

 to themselves. The other suborder is known, by 

 contradistinction, as that of the Toothed Whales 

 {Denticete), including four families: the Dolphins 

 {Delphinidce), the Narwhals {Monodontidce), the Bot- 

 tle-nosed Whales {Hyperoodoniidce) , and the Sperm 

 Whales i^Catodontidce). 



Z\iZ Dalpbins. 



FOURTH FAMILY: Delphinid^. 



The first family of the Tbothed Whales comprises 

 the Dolphins, which are medium sized or small 

 Whales having both jaws, either for their whole 

 length or partly, beset with more or less conical 

 teeth, nearly uniform in shape. The body is pro- 

 portionately long, the head comparatively small, the 

 snout in several species is elongated and pointed, 

 and there is usually a dorsal fin. 

 Range and Gen- The Dolphins inhabit all oceans, un- 

 eral Traits of dertake great migrations, but are the 

 Dolphins. only Whales which frequent rivers or 

 even spend their whole lives in them or in the lakes 



