♦ THE LESSER RORQUAL 



up to about 30 feet in length, is somewhat stout in build and like 

 Rudolphi's Rorqual possesses a rather high and hooked dorsal fin. 



The colour above is greyish black or brownish grey, the ribbed under 

 parts are white and the baleen yellowish white. 



This whale is a northern species, approaching in summer the ice floes 

 of the Polar regions, when it also visits the ^ords of Norway, the 

 Shetlands, and the coasts of Scotland. 



It has more often been stranded on the shores of Scotland than those 

 of England. 



In the Report on Cetacea Stranded on the British Coasts during 

 19 16, by Sir Sidney Harmer, F.R.S., two Lesser Rorquals are reported 

 stranded on the Scottish Coasts, one at North Berwick in August and 

 another at Caithness in October. The first of these had lost its head, 

 tail, and flippers. 



The habits of this species are not known to differ from those of its 

 congeners, and owing to its small size it is not considered of much value 

 by the whalers. 



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