346 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



they are particularly massive, but short. These teeth are received 

 into holes in the upper jaw, which is only provided with about eight 

 teeth barely appearing above the gum. 



The eyes are small, and there are no external ears, while the ear 

 orifice, about a foot behind the eye, is only big enough to admit the 

 tip of a finger. 



The tongue is very short and small for the size of the animal, and 

 cannot be protruded : the inside of the mouth is conspicuously white, 

 contrasting with the general black colour of the hide. This is occa- 

 sionally, however, marked with white, especially about the hinder- 

 parts. As is usual in Cetaceans, it is hairless ; but this species differs 

 from the Whalebone Whales in the cleanness of its skin, which in 

 many of the others is apt to be encrusted with barnacles or other 

 parasites. 



The adult bull Sperm- Whale is an enormous brute, at least twenty 

 yards long, but the " cows " are not more than half his size. They go 

 in herds or "schools," which may number as many as fifty, and are 

 commonly accompanied by one old bull ; younger bulls go in smaller 

 schools by themselves. Sometimes several schools will unite into one 

 great herd ; and single individuals may be found, which are usually 

 old bulls. 



The Sperm-Whale, or Cachalot, as it is sometimes called, is re- 

 markable for its wide distribution, even among the ocean animals, 

 which, naturally enough, often range more widely than any of the 

 beasts of the land. Except in the Arctic and Antarctic waters, it is to 

 be found practically everywhere, though most especially in the southern 

 seas ; and, unlike most Whales, is generally met with in warm 

 waters. Now and then individuals occur on the British coasts, either 

 alive or as stranded carcases, and these are always old bulls, which no 

 doubt have been driven from the herd and were leading a wandering 

 life. As a general rule, however, this is an animal of the deep sea, 

 and avoids even the neighbourhood of land, so that it is not to be 

 expected in our narrow waters. It can be recognised at sea by its 

 " spout," which is discharged in a single jet diagonally forward, not in 



