i9ii] HABITS OF THE KILLER WHALE 97 
A herd of white whales has been seen driven into a bay 
and literally torn to pieces. 
Teeth, large, conical, and slightly recurved, 11 or 12 
on each side of either jaw. 
' Mammals 7 — Flower and Lydekher : 
6 Distinguished from all their allies by great strength 
and ferocity.' 
1 Combine in packs to hunt down and destroy . . . 
full sized whales.' 
* Marine Mammalia ' — Scatnmon : 
Adult males average 20 feet ; females 15 feet. 
Strong sharp conical teeth which interlock. Combines 
great strength with agility. 
Spout 1 low and bushy.' 
Habits exhibit a boldness and cunning peculiar to their 
carnivorous propensities. 
Three or four do not hesitate to grapple the largest 
baleen whales, who become paralysed with terror — 
frequently evince no efforts to escape. 
Instances have occurred where a band of orcas laid 
siege to whales in tow, and although frequently lanced and 
cut with boat spades, made away with their prey. 
Inclined to believe it rarely attacks larger cetaceans. 
Possessed of great swiftness. 
Sometimes seen peering above the surface with a seal 
in their bristling jaws, shaking and crushing their victims 
and swallowing them apparently with gusto. 
Tear white whales into pieces. 
Ponting has been ravished yesterday by a view of the 
VOL. I H 
