CETACEA—THE WHALES.

Whale Attacked by Bloodheads.

THE Whale family, or the Cetacea, are really aquatic animals, although they resemble Fishes externally. Their whole structure—their lungs instead of gills for breathing, their heart, and their manner of feeding their young, all show that they belong to the Mammals. Only, instead of being organized for living on land, they are better suited for the water. Some of them reach an enormous size, and are the giants of the animal kingdom.

Their body, more or less spindle-shaped, is terminated in a tail which is very broad and forms a fin. This fin or tail is not vertical, as in Fishes, and it is the principal agent for moving these living masses.

On the back of most of the Cetacea there is another fin, which is merely a part of the skin. They have no hind fins, and their great front fins or arms are of littleuse for locomotion through the water, but serve to balance their movements.

The skin of the different members of the Whale family is generally quite hairless, which very rarely happens in the case of other Mammalia. The largest of other animals are small when compared with many of the Cetacea. These great creatures swim quite rapidly, however. Because of the air contained in their chest, and the great quantity of grease with which their tissues are charged, and the great strength of their tail in pushing them forward, they move easily through the waves, looking for the Fish,Molluscs and Crustacea, which they eat in enormous quantities.

The Whale family is first divided into two classes, the Blowing Cetacea, and the Herbiverous Cetacea. The Herbiverous class includes the Manatees and the Duyongs who live on the weedy, shallow shores around the islands and mouths of rivers, and feed on the sea-weed.

The class of Blowing Cetacea includes the Whale proper, the Rorquals and the great Cachalot or Sperm Whale, in which the head constitutes in itself one-third, or even one-half of the total length of the creature, the Whalebone Whale; and a second division containing the Dolphin, the Porpoise,Narwhal, etc., in which the head is in the usual proportion to the body.

We hear surprising stories of the Whales of past ages which measured from one or two hundred feet in length; and from the skeletons that have been discovered, it is found that even if they did not reach this great length, it is probably true, as Goldsmith claims, that they were very much larger in the past than now. It is the same as with the quadrupeds, the huge Mastodons, etc., from the skeletons that have been dug up from time to time it is evident that there must have been terrestrial animals twice as large as the Elephant, but these, being rivals with mankind for the large territory required for their existence, must have been destroyed in the contest. And in the sea, as well as upon land, Man has destroyed the larger tribes of animals.

The Whale is the largest animal of which we have any certain information; and the various purposes to which, when taken, its different parts are converted, have made us well acquainted with its history. Of the Whale proper, there are no less than seven different kinds; all distinguishedfrom each other by their external figure or internal formation. They differ somewhat in their manner of living; the Fin-fish having a larger swallow than the rest, being more active, slender and fierce, and living chiefly upon Herrings. However, they are none of them very voracious; and, if compared to the Cachalot, that enormous tyrant of the deep, they appear harmless and gentle. The history of the rest, therefore, may be comprised under that of the Great Common Greenland Whale, with which we are best acquainted.

The Great Greenland Whale is a large, heavy animal, and the head alone makes a third of its bulk. It is usually found from sixty to seventy feet long. The fins on each side are from five to eight feet, composed of bones and muscles, and sufficiently strong to give the great mass of body which they move, speed and activity. The tail, which lies flat on the water, is about twenty-four feet broad, and, when the Whale lies on one side, its blow is tremendous. The skin is smooth and black, and in some places marbled with white and yellow; which, running over the surface, has a very beautiful effect.

The Whale makes use only of the tail to advance itself forward in the water. This serves as a great oar to push its mass along; and it is surprising to see with what force and celerity its enormous bulk cuts through the ocean. The fins are only made use of for turning in the water, and giving direction to its course. The Mother-whale also makes use of them, when pursued, to bear off her young, clapping them on her back, and supporting them, by the fins on each side, from falling.

The outward or scarf skin of the Whale is no thicker than parchment; but this removed, the real skin appears, of about an inch thick, and covering the fat or blubber that lies beneath; this is from eight to twelve inches in thickness; and is, when the Whale is in health, of a beautiful yellow. The muscles lie beneath; and these, like the flesh of quadrupeds, are very red and tough.

Nothing can exceed the tenderness of the mother for her young; she carries it with her wherever she goes, and, when hardest pursued, keeps it supported between her fins. Even when wounded, she still clasps her baby; and when she plunges to avoid danger, takes it to the bottom; but rises sooner than usual, to give it breath again.

It seems astonishing how a shoal of these enormous animals find subsistence together, when it would seem that the supplying even one with food would require greater plenty than the ocean could furnish. To increase our wonder, we not only see them herding together, but usually find them fatter than any other animals of land or sea. We likewise know that they cannot swallow large Fishes, as their throat is so narrow, that a Fish larger than a Herring could not enter. How then do they subsist and grow so fat? A small insect which is seen floating in those seas, and which Linnaeus terms the Medusa, is sufficient for this supply.

These insects are black, and of the size of a small bean, and are sometimes seen floating in clusters on the surface of the water. They are of a round form, like Snails in a box, but they have wings, which are so tender that it is scarcely possible to touch them without breaking. These serve rather for swimming thanflying; and the little animal is called by the Icelanders, the Walfischoas, which signifies the Whale’s provender. They have the taste of raw muscles, and have the smell of burnt sugar. These are the food of the Whale, which it is seen to draw up in great numbers with its huge jaws, and to bruise between its barbs, which are always found with several of these sticking among them.

As the Whale is a meek animal, it is not to be wondered that it has many enemies, willing to take advantage of its disposition, and inaptitude for combat. There is a small animal, of the Shell-fish kind, called the Whale-louse, that sticks to its body, as we see shells sticking to the bottom of a ship. This hides itself chiefly under the fins; and whatever efforts the great animal makes, it still keeps its hold and lives upon the fat, which it is provided with instruments to reach.

The Sword-fish, however, is the Whale’s most terrible enemy. “At the sight of this little animal,” says Anderson, “the Whale seems agitated in an extraordinary manner; leaping from the water as if with affright. Wherever it appears, the Whale perceives it at a distance, and flies from it in the opposite direction. I have been myself,” he continues, “a spectator of their terrible encounter. The Whale has no instrument of defence except the tail; with that it endeavors to strike the enemy; and a single blow taking place, would effectually destroy its adversary; but the Sword-fish is as active as the other is strong, and easily avoids the stroke; then bounding into the air, it falls upon its great enemy, and endeavors, not to pierce with its pointed beak, but to cut with its toothed edges. The sea all about is soon dyed with blood, proceeding from the wounds of the Whale, while the enormous animal vainly endeavors to reach its invader, and strikes with its tail against the surface of the water, making a report at each blow louder than the noise of a cannon.”

The Whale has still another deadly enemy—the tribe of Bloodheads, known as the Wolves of the ocean. This is a species of Whale and, like the Whale, also belongs to Mammalian animals. Although the Bloodheads in relation to the enormous Whale may be termed small, they wage war in troups of five or ten, undaunted and impassionately attacking the huge monster who usually succumbs to the assault. They, therefore, deserve the name assigned them by Linneus, “Torment of the Whale.” They are even more blood-thirsty than the Shark in boldness, killing Seal and smaller Fish in masses.

The Whale when attacked by these Fish of Prey appears to become at first paralyzed with fear and hardly makes any effort to defend himself, although it would hardly benefit him to do so as the Bloodheads are the swiftest of the Whale family, swimming with extraordinary quickness and dexterity. The “Wolves of the Sea” encircle the gigantic, clumsy Whale like a pack of Hounds around a pursued and exhausted Deer. Some of them attack him at the head and forefins, others attack him from underneath, while others attack the lips, and when he opens his gigantic mouth, attempt to slash apart his tongue. Finally the giant becomes angered. He whips the water with his tail and his front fins with tremendous force, snorts powerful streams out of the nostrils of his colossal head; dives under and shoots up in an endeavor to shake off his enemies and to dispatch them with his fins. Often this terrificcombat, as illustrated on page88, lasts for a considerable length of time, ending mostly with the downfall and death of the Whale. The Bloodheads tear him apart in a horrible manner until death ensues, after which they feast for days with pleasure on the immense carcass, and then start in search of further prey.

SPERM WHALE.

In these Cetaceans the head is of vast size and excessively vaulted, or arched, especially in front. The upper jaw has no whalebone nor teeth of any kind, excepting a few rudiments. The lower jaw, which is very narrow and much elongated, is armed on each side with a lengthy row of teeth of considerable size and conical shape, the points of which when the mouth is shut, are received into corresponding depressions in the upper jaw.

The upper region of their prodigious head is made up of vast caverns filled with an oily fluid, which on cooling becomes solid, constituting the valuable substance generally known by the name of “spermaceti.” It is not, however, in the vaults of the head only that this fat is found. It appears to be distributed through various excavations in the body, and to be diffused even among the dense mass of blubber which envelopes the exterior of the animal.

The peculiar odorous substance, so well known under the name of “ambergris,” is likewise obtained from the Cachalot.

How many species of these monstrous creatures exist in the ocean we cannot tell, seeing that the observations of the Whale-fishermen are generally by no means sufficiently precise for the purposes of Natural History. That which appears to be most frequently met with is the Great-headed Spermaceti Whale.

This giant of the deep has merely a callous hump upon its back, in place of a dorsal fin. On each side of its lower jaw are from twenty to twenty-three large conical teeth. The “blow hole” through which it respires is a single orifice, situated on the top of the head—not a double aperture as in most other Cetaceans. The species seems to be widely distributed, but its range is principally confined to the oceans south of the Equator.

These Whales resemble the Cachalots, both in the vastness of their bulk, and in the disproportionate size of their head, when compared with their entire length. Their forehead, however, is considerably flatter than that of the Spermaceti Whales, and they have no true teeth. Instead of the usual implements of mastication, their upper jaw, which somewhat resembles a great boat turned keel upwards, or the roof of a house, has its under surface densely furnished with plates of a substance called “whalebone,” consisting of horny plates resembling the blades of scythes, placed transversely. These becoming thinner towards their edges, are fringed with a long hair-like border, so that the whole apparatus forms an immense sieve.

The Whalebone Whale—long considered as the largest animal at present in existence—according to the testimony of the Rev. Captain Scoresby, seems rarely, if ever, to exceed seventy feet in length; a size, which, although prodigious, is exceeded by some other Cetaceans. Its back is unprovided with a dorsal fin. The blubber, or elastic fat beneath its skin, which is sometimes several feet in thickness, furnishes immense quantities of oil, in search of which whole fleets were formerly fitted out, until the entire race of these Whales has become almost extinct. At a very recent period these leviathans of the ocean were not uncommonly met with on the British coast; but generally they have been compelled to retire for safety to the recesses of the ice-bound coasts of the north, and even there they are rarely to be encountered, their number appearing to constantly diminish.

In addition to the large supplies of oil fat, commerce was indebted to them for the whalebone, formerly so abundant, consisting of broad plates of that black, flexible, horny substance, sometimes measuring eight or ten feet in length; and of these a single individual has been known to furnish eight or nine hundred from each side of the roof of its mouth, as well as upwards of twenty tons of oil.Notwithstanding its colossal size, the Whalebone Whale is very harmless, living principally upon the small animals that crowd the seas to which it resorts, straining them from the surrounding water by means of its sieve-like mouth.

DOLPHIN.

These animals are easily distinguished from the others of the Whale family by their arched forehead, the beak-like jaws, and the beauty and elegance of theirmovements in the water. For many ages the Dolphin has been noted for its intelligence and docility, its affectionate disposition being quite as noticeable among the water animals, as that of the Dog or the Elephant among quadrupeds.

They usually swim in companies, leaping and tumbling over one another with amusing playfulness. They live principally upon Fishes, which, from the swiftness of their movements, they have no difficulty in catching.

People have always had a great idea of the strength of the Dolphin, and at one time it was said of those who attempted to perform impossibilities, that they “wanted to tie a Dolphin by the tail.” It is principally with the assistance of this powerful tail that the Dolphin swims with such rapidity, and that it has gained for itself the title of “Sea-arrow.”

When the Dolphins—which go in numerous troops and in certain order—meet a ship, they follow it, so as to catch the Fish which the refuse thrown from the ship attracts in quantities. At whatever speed the ship may be, either sailing or steaming, they keep up with it, and play about among the waves, bounding, turning over and over, and never tiring of frisking and tumbling, affording continual amusement to the crew.

Many authors have said that the Dolphin leaps high enough above the surface of the water to jump on board small vessels. They say that in this case the animal curves its body round with force, bends its tail like a bow, and then unbends it, in such a manner as to fly like the arrow from a bow.

When they saw these animals following their ships, the sailors imagined thatthey were accompanying them from an instinct of sociability. They have even gone so far as to say that these animals have a sort of affection for seamen, as well as for each other.

The Porpoises differ from the Dolphins in having their snout short and uniformly rounded, withouta beak-like projection. Their teeth are compressed, sharp-edged, and rounded, their number from twenty-two to twenty-five in each jaw. Their skin is smooth and shining, black above and white below, and as they never attain a greater length than four or five feet from the tip of the muzzle to the extremity of their flat horizontal tail, they may be regarded as the smallest of the Cetacean Order. These animals abound in every sea, and many people have witnessed their unwieldy gambollings, the character of which is by no means badly expressed by their name (porc-poisson, hog-fishes). They have, in fact, somewhat the appearance of floating pigs, as they wallow in the trough of the sea and roll over each other amid the foaming waves.

Their food consists entirely of Fishes, of which they destroy great quantities. They follow the shoals of Herrings and of Mackerel, and when pursuing their prey, not unfrequently venture into the estuaries of rivers, and make excursions up the rivers themselves.

THE NARWHALS.

NARWHAL.

The Narwhals have no teeth, but are furnished with an enormous tusk, that projects from the upper jaw, and becomes a most formidable weapon.

The Narwhal is an inhabitant of the Arctic seas, where it sometimes attains a length of from twenty to twenty-five feet. Its skin is beautifully marbled with brown and white; its muzzle is round, and its mouth, unlike that of other Cetaceans, is disproportionately small. Its single tooth, or horn-like tusk, projects from the head in a line with the body, sometimes to the length of nine or ten feet. It is spirally twisted, tapering to a point, and as it is composed of the hardest ivory, is capable not only of transfixing the body of a Whale, but when impelled by such momentum as is derived from the speed of its ponderous owner, has been known to penetrate the oaken ribs of a British man-of-war to the depth of nearly a couple of feet, and probably has thus caused the loss of many ships incapable of resisting the shock.

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