of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



365 



IX. NOTES FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION ON THE HABITS 

 OF THE GREENLAND WHALEBONE WHALE. 



The full-grown average-sized Greenland male whale is from 52 to 53 

 feet in length, 36 feet round the thickest part of the body, 32 feet 

 round in the region of the eyes, 16 to 17 feet from the nose to the eye, 

 and 10 feet across the lower jaw. The nippers measure 7 feet long by 5 

 feet wide j the tail, from fluke to fluke, 20 feet across ; the length of whale- 

 bone is 10 feet 6 inches; the yield of whalebone 15 cwts, with 15 tons of 

 oil or thereby, according to the age and condition of the whale (young 

 whales having thicker blubber than old ones), and the displacement 65 

 to 70 tons. 



There are sometimes larger male whales caught than the above, but 

 they never measure over 55 feet in length, and they rarely have whalebone 

 measuring over 11 feet. Female whales have often been killed from 55 

 to 57 feet in length, their bone ranging from 11 to 14 feet long, and their 

 other proportions being equally large. 



Individuals have been taken in the Greenland Seas yielding 28 or 30 

 tons of oil, with 30 cwts of whalebone, their displacement being 70 to 80 

 tons. I have never taken a female whale that yielded more than 25 tons 

 of oil, and 25 cwts of whalebone, 12 feet 6 inches in length ; but I took 

 one in Cumberland Gulf with whalebone 13 feet 6 inches, which is the 

 longest bone I have ever taken, although it was not nearly the largest 

 b xlied whale, as it only yielded 20 tons of oil. 



The probable length of the life of whales is purely a matter of con- 

 jecture, but that they attain a very great age is beyond a doubt. This 

 is proved to a certain extent by the amount of white skin on very old 

 animals ; the young whales being quite black, excepting the white marks 

 round the lower jaw, which are to be seen at a very early age. The 

 older a whale grows the whiter it becomes about the fins and rump, and 

 it is heavily scarred with white marks all over. The tail becomes en- 

 tirely white. I killed a very large old female whale, and took out a har- 

 poon embedded in its blubber that had been there for thirty-two years, as 

 shown by the date on the harpoon. In another instance, when flensing a 

 whale, the harpooners struck against the socket of a hand harpoon. On 

 examination, they found the harpoon embedded in the flesh with six 

 inches of gristly bone all round it, clearly showing that it had been there 

 for many years, although it is impossible to say for how long. 



The only way of determining how many years it takes for a whale to have 

 whalebone 10 feet long, is by counting the notches on the outside of the 

 whalebone, which can be done in the same way as the branches of a pine 

 tree. These notches have been frequently counted, and it is considered 

 that it takes twenty years for a whale to have bone 10 to 10 feet 6 inches 

 in length. My decided opinion is that whales will live up to and over 

 100 years. 



So far as has come under my observation, the Greenland whales have 

 no stated period at which they bring forth their young, as I have seen 

 them with very young calves early in May and late in July. There is a 

 great deal still to be found out as to where old cow whales disappear to 

 after calving, for after forty years' whaling experience in the Greenland 

 Seas I have not seen many more than a dozen old whales accompanied by 

 calves altogether. That they have often calves is proved beyond a doubt 

 by the number of young whales frequently to be seen. 



It has been known for many years to the Greenland whale fishers that 

 there is a separation of the sexes for sometime in the summer season ; 



