30 BRITISH MAMMALS 



round the Orkney and Shetland Islands. The black fish is said 

 to be the most gregarious of all known whales, assembling in 

 large herds, which are believed to include sometimes from one to 

 two thousand individuals, though more commonly not exceeding 

 two or three hundred. These herds follow a leader, and follow 

 this leader blindly, even though it may be into shoal water, 

 where they become stranded. In 1 845 it is stated that two 

 thousand and eighty of these black fish were driven ashore by 

 the fishing fleets on the Faroe Islands ; and in the same year, on 

 September 22 nd, fifteen hundred and forty were killed in two 

 hours in Quendall Bay, Shetland Islands. " Should one whale 

 break through the line," writes Bell, " all is lost : the rest will 

 follow it out to sea in spite of every exertion of the fishermen ; 

 but if they are forced into shallow water they plunge blindly on 

 till they strand themselves, and then the whole population rushes 

 wildly at them, armed with harpoons, spears, hatchets, picks, spades, 

 and any weapon that comes to hand ; and the cries and dying 

 struggles of the poor animals, the shouts of the men, and clash 

 of weapons, the bloody and troubled sea, combine to form an 

 extremely exciting if somewhat revolting scene." 



The young of the black fish Is 3 ft. long at birth, and is 

 generally born towards the end of summer. 



Grampus griseus. Risso's Grampus ^ 



This whale, which is very rarely taken in British seas, is 

 distinguished from all other dolphins by the total absence of 

 teeth in the upper jaw, while in the lower jaw the teeth are 

 sometimes as few as three on each side, or as many as seven. In 

 the configuration of the head it somewhat resembles the black 

 fish, though there is a greater extension of the snout. The 

 flippers are long, but much narrower and less falcated than in the 

 black fish. The length of the animal rarely exceeds 13 ft. 

 The coloration is rather peculiar. The head and fore part of the 

 body (except the flippers) is gray, with mottlings and lighter 



1 The English word grampus is simply a corruption of the French " grand 

 poisson." It is a name often applied to the orca, or killer whale. 



