570 



THE WHALES. 



most remarkable Dolphins: the White Whale or 

 Beluga, which represents the genus Beluga. The 

 lack of a dorsal fin may be considered as the most 

 important distinctive physical feature of the animals 

 of this genus. The strongly-arched forehead ter- 

 minates abruptly in the broad, truncated muzzle, the 

 jaws of which are armed with a few conical teeth, 

 which usually fall out in old age. The short, blunt 

 flippers, which are placed in the first quarter of the 

 total length, are of an ovoid shape. 

 Characteristics of The Beluga or White Whale {Be- 

 the White luga leucas) averages a length of 

 ly/ia/e. from thirteen to twenty feet. The 



color is a yellowish white in old animals, brownish or 

 bluish gray in young individuals, and later is mottled 

 until it gradually fades into the hue of maturity. 



The Beluga ranges throughout all waters around 

 the north pole, but does not usually roam far south. 

 In rare cases it may stray into southern seas, having 



ships and gambols joyfully up and down in their im- 

 mediate proximity; yet it always remains timid, and 

 flees at the slightest noise. The principal reason, 

 however, why whalers do not hunt the animal, which 

 yields more or less profit, is, that the Beluga often 

 bafHes pursuit in the open sea by its great speed 

 and agility; and its hunt requires too much time to 

 be profitable for civilized whalers. It is different 

 with the natives of the high north: for them the- 

 Beluga is the most important of Whales, on account 

 of its oil and flesh. The majority are caught in 

 nets, which are set at the mouths of ocean creeks or 

 the inlets of bays, or in straits between islands. The 

 flippers and tail are esteemed as special delicacies,, 

 if they are well prepared. The skin is dried and 

 tanned and serves a variety of purposes. In Kam- 

 chatka, for instance, thongs are made out of it, 

 which are highly esteemed on account of their plia- 

 bility and strength. 



THE WHIii. WKALZ. I . . af a white body this animal is notable as having no dorsal fin, while its blunt muzzle, 



its short, oval flippers and broad, forked tail are also notable characteristics. As it ranges in polar seas, the artist has appropriately depicted 

 it in the vicinity of an iceberg. (Beluga leucas.) 



several times descended to the coasts of centrai 

 Europe. Small fishes, Shrimjjs and cephalopods - 

 form their food, and besides these animals sand is 

 invariably found in their stomachs, a fact which ha[s 

 led to the joke, common among the Greenlanders, 

 that it can not swim without ballast. 



In its demeanor and character the Beluga differs 

 in nearly every respect from the impetuous Gram- 

 puses, and likewise from the Porpoises. White 

 Whales are hardly ever seen singly, but generally in 

 groups, which may grow into immense schools. The 

 sight of such a school is said to afford a truly mag- 

 nificent spectacle, as the dazzlingly white animals 

 sometimes, as they rise to breathe, lift their bodies 

 half above the dark waves. 



The Beluga of Great The whalers greet the Beluga with 



Value to the Arc- joy, as they see in it the precursor 



tic Dwellers. of the large Whale, and they often 



sail on in its company, without molesting it. Under 



these circumstances this Dolphin comes close to 



ROUND-HEADED WHALES. 



' Among all the gifts of , the sea none is more im- 

 portant for the northern native than the one prof- 

 fered in the' shape of an animal belonging to the- 

 famiiy which we have now under consideration. 

 The Ca'ingW hale, I mean the Ca'ing or PilotWhaie 

 its Haunts and {^Globiocephalus melas), a representa- 

 Habits. tive of the genus of the Roundheaded 

 Whales (Globiocephalus). The Ca'ing Whales [which 

 name is a Scotch contraction of " Calling" Whales] 

 are characterized by the almost globular head, which 

 has a swollen appearance; the crescent shaped flip- 

 pers, placed well under the body; the dorsal fin, erect 

 in the middle of the back, and the wide intermaxil- 

 lary bones of the lower jaw. The body is not spin- 

 dle-shaped, but compressed laterally. In each jaw,, 

 placed at tolerably wide, intervalsi. -there ' are from 

 twelve to fourteen rather long," nearly- cottical, in- 

 terlocking teeth, the sharp points of which are. 

 curved slightly backward and inward. The naked> 



