68 
MAMMALIA. 
upper surface is to be seen tbe spiracle, or sole orifice of tbe 
nasal cavities. There issue from this orifice little greyish inter- 
mittent clouds. 
The enormous head of the Cachalot joins, without any appear- 
ance of a neck, on to a massive conical body, terminating in a 
large pair of caudal flukes or lobes, each of which is hollowed 
out in the shape of a scythe. The end of one of these flukes 
is often nearly five metres distant from the extremity of the 
other. The animal’s back is black, or blackish ; sometimes it is 
shot with greenish or grey tints. The belly is whitish ; the skin 
is smooth, and as soft as silk. When one considers the resistance 
which the great vertical surface of this animal’s muzzle must 
oppose to its movements, one cannot at once explain the rapidity of 
its evolutions, and the quickness of the rate at which it travels. 
The fact is, in spite of its enormous mass, the Cachalot goes at 
about two leagues an hour, but it can double this pace. One then 
sees it raising and lowering its immense tail ; the body follows 
this movement ; it alternately uncovers itself, and then plunges 
into the sea. At each impulsion it rises itself thus, from eight to 
ten metres above the water, and sometimes it even throws itself 
entirely above the surface of the water. According to Dr. 
Thiercelin, the Cachalot can remain for a long while in the depths 
of the ocean. It is sometimes forty, fifty minutes, and even an 
hour before it reappears. It comes near shore and into shallow 
places near islands at the full and new moons ; it regains the open 
seas at the moment of the neap-tides. According to Dr. Thiercelin, 
it lives almost entirely on Cuttles and other Cephalopods, which, 
floating in the water almost without voluntary movement, 
are unable to escape from such a voracious enemy. According 
to Lacepede, on the contrary, the Cachalot greedily devours fish, 
and especially Cycloptera ; and it pursues also Sharks, Seals, and 
Dolphins. Furthermore, it never travels alone. Bands of from 
two to three hundred Cachalots have been met with — wandering 
hordes, each under the guidance of a chief that swims in front of 
the rest, and is ready to give, by a peculiar cry, the signal for a 
combat, or for a retreat. 
The mothers are very much attached to their young. On the 
least sign of danger, they carry them off, and if they are attacked 
they defend them to the death. If one of them has run aground 
