DELPHINID^ 37 



respects, tO' a pack of hounds holding a stricken deer at bay. The 

 Orca, however, does not always live on such gigantic food ; and 

 we incline to the belief that it is but rarely that these carnivora 

 of the sea attack the larger cetaceans, but chiefly prey with great 

 rapacity upon their young. The Orca finds its principal food in 

 the smaller species of its own family, together with the seals and 

 larger fishes. They will sometimes be seen peering above the 

 surface with a seal in their bristling jaws, shaking or crunch- 

 ing their victim, and swallowing them apparently with great 

 gusto; or, should no other game present itself, porpoises anrl 

 salmon may fill their empty maws, or a Humpback or Finback 

 Whale may furnish them with an ample repast. 



"Compared with the other species of the Dolphin tribe the 

 Orcas are not numerous, neither do they usually go in large 

 schools or shoals, like the Porpoises and Blackfish. They are 

 seldom captured' by civilized whalemen, as their varied and ir- 

 regular movements make the pursuit difficult, and the product of 

 oil is even less than that of Blackfish, in proportion to their size. 

 By chance, however, we were so fortunate as to take one of 

 them', a female about 15 feet long, and on examining it to satisfy 

 ourselves about the character of its food, found that it consisted 

 of young seals. The covering of fat did not exceed three-fourths 

 of an inch in thickness, and was very white. The yield of oil 

 was one and a half barrels, and nearly as clear as springwater. 



"The Killers I have noticed in the Gulf of Georgia, about 

 the northern end of Vancouver Island, and as far north as the 

 Aleutian Islands, appear to have more white on their sides and 

 are of a dull black on the back, the dorsal fin wider at the base 

 and shorter. I am fully convinced that there are two species at 

 least on the coast between the latitudes of 20 degrees and 60 de^ 

 grees north ; one with a dorsal fin excessively long, narrow at 

 base, standing very erect ; the other species with a shorter dorsal 

 fin, somewhat curved, much broader and slanting backward."' 

 ( Scammon) . 



