472 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



SPERM WHALE, OR CACHALOT ' 

 (Physeter macrocephalus) 



The cachalot is from 40 to 60 feet long, about 

 equahng the Greenland bowhead whale in size. 

 It has a huge blunt head, which comprises 

 about one-third of the entire animal. The 

 mouth is large and the under jaw is provided 

 with a row of heavy teeth, consisting of ivory- 

 finer in grain than that from an elephant's tusk. 



The great whaling industry of the last two 

 centuries was based mainly on the sperm and 

 the bowhead whales. The largest of the bow- 

 heads is limited to the cold northern waters, 

 but the sperm whale frequents the tropic and 

 subtropic seas around the globe. The m^in 

 hunting area for them lies in the South Pacific, 

 but they frequently visit more temperate coasts, 

 especially when seeking sheltered bays, where 

 their young may be born. The young are 

 suckled and guarded carefully until old enough 

 to be left to their own devices. Sperm whales 

 sometimes occur off both coasts of the United 

 States, especially off southern California. 



The feeding grounds of these whales are 

 mainly in the deepest parts of the ocean, 

 where they cruise about in irregular schools 

 containing a number of individuals. Their 

 food consists almost entirely of large octopuses 



and giant squids, which are swallowed in large 

 sections. 



As befits a gigantic mammal possessing huge 

 jaws armed with rows of fighting teeth, the 

 sperm whale is a much more pugnacious ani- 

 mal than the bowhead. There are many rec- 

 ords of whale-boats being smashed by them, 

 and several well-authenticated cases of enraged 

 bull cachalots having charged and crushed in 

 the sides of whaling ships, causing them speed- 

 ily to founder. 



The sperm whale yields oil of a better quality 

 than the bowhead. Its huge head always con- ■ 

 tains a considerable number of barrels of spe- 

 cially fine-grade oil, which produces the sper- 

 maceti of commerce. Ambergris, having an 

 excessively high value for use in the manufac- 

 ture of certain perfumes, is a product occa- 

 sionally formed in the digestive tract of the 

 sperm whale. 



The name cachalot is one to conjure with 

 It brings up visions of three-year voyages to 

 the famed South Seas, palm-bedecked coral 

 islands, and idyllic days with dusky islanders. 

 As in the case of the Greenland bowhead, how- 

 ever, this animal has been hunted until only a 

 small fraction of its former numbers survives 

 and the romantic days of its pursuit are gone, 

 never to return. 



THE LARGER NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS 

 INDEX TO TEXT AND ILLUSTRATION PAGES 



Illus- 

 Text tration 



page. pase. 



Antelope, Prong-liorn 452 451 



badger 420 419 



Bear, Alaskan Brown — (Frontispiece) 441 



Bear, Black 437 439 



Bear, Cinnamon or Black 437 439 



Bear, Glaciei- 437 439 



Bear, Grizzly 440 442 



Bear, Polar 436 438 



Beaver, American 441 443 



Beluga or White Whale 468 470 



Bison, American, or Buffalo 461 463 



Bobcat or Bay Lynx 409 411 



Bowhead or Greenland Right Whale. . 469 471 



Buffalo or American Bison 461 463 



Cachalot, or Sperm Whale 472 471 



Caribou, Barren Ground 460 422 



Caribou, Woodland 460 459 



Caribou, Peary, or Barren Ground. . , 460 422 



Cat, Jaguarundi, or Eyra 413 415 



Coyote, Arizona or Mcarns 424 423 



Coyote, Mearns or Arizona 424 423 



Coyote, Plains, or Prairie Wolf 424 423 



Ueer, Arizona White-tailed 457 458 



Deer, Black-tailed 456 455 



i:)eer. Mule 453 455 



Deer, Virginia or White-tailed 456 458 



Deer, White-tailed 456, 457 458 



Elk, American 453 454 



Byra or Jaguarundi Cat 413 415 



Fisher or Pekan 444 446 



Fox, Alaska Red 417 418 



Fox, Arctic or White 425 426 



Pox, Cross 417 418 



I"'ox, Desert 420 419 



Fox, Gray 417 419 



Fox, Pribilof Blue 425 426 



Fox, Red 416 418 



Fox, Silver 417 418 



Ii'ox, White or Arctic 425 426 



Goat, Rocky Mountain 452 451 



Jaguar 413 414 



Text 

 page. 



Lion, Mountain 412 



Lynx, Bay . .' 409 



Lynx, Canada 409 



Manati, Florida ' 455 



Moose 461 



Muskhog or Peccary 443 



Musk-ox 464 



Ocelots or Tiger-cats ' 415 



Opossum, Virginia 408 



Otter 445 



Otter, Sea 432 



Peccary, Collared, or Muskhog 443 



Pekan or Fisher 444 



Raccoon ] 4Q8 



Sea-elephant, Northern, or Elephant 



Seal 432 



Sea-lion, Steller 429 



Seal, Alaska Pur 429 



Seal, Elephant, or Sea-elephant 432 



Seal, Greenland, or Harp Seal 433 



Seal, Harbor 433 



Seal, Harp, Saddle-back, or Greenland 433 



Seal, Leopard, or Harbor Seal 433 



Seal, Ribbon 436 



Seal, Saddle-back, or Harp Seal .....' 433 



Sheep, Dail Mountain 449 



Sheep, Rocky Mountain 443 



Sheep, Stone Mountain 449 



Tiger-cats or Ocelots 416 



Walrus, I'aciflc 423 



Wapiti or American Elk 453 



Whale, Greenland Right or Bowhead. 469 



Whale, Killer 46s 



Whale, Sperm, or Cachalot 472 



Whale, White or Beluga 46s 



Wolt, Arctic White 421 



Wolf, Blaclf 



Wolf, Gray or Timlier 421 



Wolf, Prairie, or Plains Covotc 424 



Wolf, Timber or Gray 42] 



Wolverine 433 



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