348 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



crews escaping in the boats, there is reason to believe that many a 

 vessel whose fate is unknown may have come to this end. 



This also accounts for the belief in the ferocity of Whales which 

 is expressed by classical writers; no doubt in ancient times Cachalots 

 were -more common and dangerous. Nowadays, this animal has been 

 so much hunted for its valuable oil and spermaceti, that it has been 

 much reduced in numbers, and the fishery has declined. In addition to 

 the above products, the Sperm-Whale is the source of ambergris, a 

 soapy substance with a powerful scent, which is used in perfumery, and 

 is very valuable. It is a concretion formed in the intestines of sickly 

 individuals, and is sometimes found floating in the sea. 



THE PIGMY SPERM-WHALE 



{Cogia breviceps) 



This Cachalot bears somewhat the same relation to the large species 

 as the Pigmy Hippopotamus does to the ordinary kind ; it looks more 

 like a large Porpoise than anything else, having a back-fin and an 

 ordinary-looking Porpoise-like head — except that the mouth is situated 

 some distance below the end of the snout — and being only about ten 

 feet long. It is confined to the Southern Seas. 



THE BEAKED WHALES 



These Whales belong to the same family (Physeterida!) as the two 

 Sperm-Whales, and are characterised by their pointed muzzles, and 

 by only having a single pair of teeth, situated in the lower jaw. Un- 

 like the large Cachalots, they have a small back-fin. Some species or 

 other of this group is to be found in all seas, but several of them are 

 exceedingly rare. The best known is the Bottle-nose (Hyperoodon 

 rostratus) of the North Atlantic, which is hunted for its oil and 

 spermaceti. It is about thirty feet long, black when young, and light 

 brown when old. 



