Sep., 1889. the fin whale fishery in north lapland. 
201 
sometimes does, the other species rarely or never.* The 
Humpback, moreover, is the only northern species possessing a 
well-marked voice. This whale “ screamsloudly when 
lanced. It is said that the Sperm Whale of the south also 
“gives tongue ’’ when struck, and I have seen the same thing 
attributed to some species of dolphin. The other Rorquals 
are all silent, however much they may protest with their 
enormously powerful tails. 
By September most of the whales have left these coasts, 
and the season is coming to a close. The Blue Whales are 
usually the first to go, but the others follow quickly, and 
the season ends somewhat abruptly. 
The breeding habits of these whales are still but imperfectly 
known. It seems likely that pairing does not occur at any 
fixed period, while the period of gestation is probably a long 
one, usually more than a year. The newly born young is, 
roughly speaking, one-fourth the length of the mother. Thus 
a new-born Common Rorqual would be from 15ft. to 18ft. 
long, while the Blue Whale seems to give birth to propor¬ 
tionally larger offspring, 23ft. being no unusual size (a some¬ 
what formidable progeny, one must admit !). The young of 
this species usually accompany the mother for a considerable 
time; they are frequently seen in company when the young 
is 50ft. long, and presumably “ of age.” 
The chief food of the Fin Whales consists of herring, small 
cod, and capelan (“ Lodde,” Norwegian; Mallotus arcticus ); 
also of large quantities of “ Kril,” i.e., minute Crustacea 
(Enphansia inermis) ; and Calctnus Finmarchicus. The Euphansia 
inermis are small thysanspod Crustacea, about ljin. long, and 
semi-transparent, frequently found in masses inside the 
jaws of a stranded whale, sticking to the fringe of the baleen. 
Calanus Finmarchicus is one of the Copepoda, of a bright 
reddish colour, also found in masses on the baleen. This is 
apparently the chief food of Rudolphi’s Rorqual, which takes 
it in vast swarms near the surface. 
Probably, besides those I have mentioned, many other 
animals provide food for these whales, such as Nudibranch 
Mollusca, Medusae, and Pteropods, but traces of these are 
not easily found, as they are so rapidly digested. 
There are various common forms of parasites, which 
infest the Baltenopteridae of Finmarken. Two of the 
commonest appear to be restricted to one only of the local 
species of Fin Whale, viz. the Humpback. These two parasites 
* The Greenland Right Whale tosses its flukes in the air as a 
general custom, in the same manner as the Humpback. 
