Whale Intelligence

Back of a gray whale showing barnacles and barnacle scars.Courtesy of Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Whales are apparently very intelligent animals. Whalers have remarked how difficult it is to approach whales which have previously escaped. The gray whales were observed actually avoiding the coast after shore whaling had been carried out for a few seasons. Animal trainers have found the toothed whales particularly apt pupils, and these animals are the stellar attraction of the various oceanaria.

Little is known, however, about the capabilities of the various sensory organs. Certainly the eyes are very important and are effective under water. It is not likely that the eye is very effective out of water, even though whales do elevate the head out of the water for a look around. The behavior has been appropriately called “spyhopping,” and it is manifested usually in the ice floes. Killer whales are believed to search the sea’s surface and the edge of the icebergs for seals and birds.

Whales appear to have very acute hearing. The report of a whaling gun will alarm whales which have previously tolerated the whaling vessel close aboard. Whalers have noted that in very foggy weather whales are much more difficult to approach because of the increased sensitivity to noise. The toothed cetaceans which are gregarious are capable of a great variety of vocalizations. Much of this is ultrasonic to man and it has been suggested that these emissions are used like man’s sonar for finding obstacles and food. Considering the limited range of vision possible in waterwhich is usually hazy or turbid, such a feature would be most useful. There is a continual chatter among members of a porpoise school, or gam, as the whalers call them. The accumulated noise serves as a beacon to which straying members can home when they have gotten out of visual range, which incidentally is under 300 feet. No one yet knows exactly how these animals can produce these sounds without being able to move air across the vocal chords. They do not exhale under water, and yet they are continually noisy.

The sense of smell is not important to whales, and the organ was abandoned when the nostrils were shifted to the back of the head and modified for diving. Although man may never be able to test whales experimentally for their sensual acuities, it is quite apparent that they are fully aware of their environment. They clearly recognize the environmental signposts which guide them to and from their various areas. Oceanographers are not nearly as adept in knowing where they are on the ocean. Whales clearly recognize their own particular kind, and they do not intermingle. Incidentally, man finds it difficult to differentiate some of the whale species. Because of the rarity of specimens and information, the identity of some species may still be in doubt.

Filtering whales, unlike the gregarious porpoises and dolphins, seldom school. Even when they appear to be abundant in a limited area, they have congregated for feeding and not for social interaction. Toothed cetaceans, on the other hand, are generally sociable. The sperm whale travels in large groups of females dominated by a single bull whale. The other males have been driven away and the victorious male exercises control of the harem only as long as he wins these contests. Once the dominant male is defeated, he becomes a solitary individual.

Whales, by virtue of their size and speed, are not preyed upon by other animals. The killer whale, however, has the size and inclination. Generally, it is content to capture seals, sea birds, and fishes, and it does not range too far from this prey. There have been isolated reports of killer whales attacking the gray whale. The gray whale is described as being very disturbed whenever a killer whale appears. On the coast of Siberia the gray whale will hide in very shallow water and if cornered is said to go into shock, floating at the surface, stomach up, while the killer whale bites at the tongue and flippers. Perhaps reports like this have been improperly interpreted. It is easy to understand how killer whales would congregate around the catch of the whaler. Recently studies on the loss of hooked tunas from the long-line fishery of the Japanese, show that killer whales are adept at stealing fish along the setline. Additional studies on the natural history of the killer whale must be made before its relationship to other whales can be properly assessed.

If whales generally lead a charmed life with respect to predators, they still have their share of parasites both external and internal. Their huge bodies are ideal platforms for the growth of barnacles which have specialized for this unusual habitat. Another very annoying skin parasite is the whale louse, which is a flattish small crustacean which clings by claws to the delicate skin. The digestive tract of the whale provides a wonderful habitat for round worms and tapeworms. Like their host, these parasites are the largest of their kind. Other organs such as the kidneys, liver and lungs are infested too.

Sperm whales suffer from another affliction which is an obstruction of the intestine by a fatty concretion which forms from the bile. Ordinarily these are passed from the digestive tract when small, but if they are retained and continue to grow, an obstruction is possible. The material isa grayish wax which is known as ambergris. It is used by the perfume industry to make permanent blends of various fragrances. Most of this material is obtained by whalers when they process the sperm whale. Only rarely does the material float ashore after the death of the unfortunate producer. Nowadays the value of ambergris is but moderate.

Whales are found with healed broken bones which must have been incurred by fighting and other collisions. The skin of whales is mottled with scars which were produced by parasites and by fighting. Toothed whales are especially scarred from the raking by the teeth of an adversary during battles for dominance. For at least 5 centuries, man has preyed on the whale. In recent times navies of several nations have been alarmed by unidentified underwater objects which cannot easily be distinguished from submarines. Some of these contacts are produced by whales. The counter measures not only cost the whale its life, but also causes the navies unnecessary expenditures of depth charges and time, and produce considerable tension and anxiety.

Whales have been extensively described both in popular and scientific writings. However, their story is by no means complete or correct. It will be many years before all the information can be obtained on these animals which range the wide oceans where man must study them under great disadvantage. Until man has the underwater mobility and maneuverability of whales, he will have to be content with surmise and interpretations based on limited observations.

There is a great deal known about the anatomy and fine structure of whales. You can certainly admire the work of the early anatomists who persevered in dissecting the partially decomposed carcasses of stranded specimens. What a contrast to the opportunity afforded now to the anatomist who need merely be present on a whaling ship station to receiveany part which he wishes to examine. It takes the whaling station 4 to 6 hours to butcher a whale completely.

Close-up of a “spyhopping” gray whale.Courtesy Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Naturally, the whales which are currently the object of research are those which are commercially important and available. The California gray whale which would be convenient for study is no longer taken commercially. Permission would have to be obtained from the International Whaling Commission to secure even a single specimen, and a scientist could not easily obtain a specimen without the assistance of whalers. Fortunately, we know a great deal about the species as a result of an extensive monograph prepared nearly 100 years ago by Captain C. M. Scammon, who was among the first to whale this animal commercially. Professor Edward D. Cope described the species, giving it the nameRhachianectes glauca, after he examined a skeleton which had been shipped to him at the Philadelphia Museum.

Roy Chapman Andrews of the American Museum prepared the first detailed description of a living specimen which he found at a Korean whaling station. At the time of his report the species had not been seenfor many years and had been believed extinct. More recently Russian scientists published considerable material which they had obtained from Russian whalers who had continued to take an occasional specimen during the thirties of this century.

They made a detailed study of the food of this whale, and they clearly showed that the herd which summered in the Sea of Okhotsk and wintered off Korea did not intermingle with the Siberian herd which wintered in the lagoons off Lower California. For the last 20 years or so, the species has enjoyed protection from whaling on an international basis. Since 1947 whaling scientists of the Canadian and American fishery agencies have published data principally on the recovery of the California herd, and to a degree have filled in some of the gaps in its life history. There is still a great deal to be learned, and it may be that some of the published observations will have to be revised or discarded. It is likely that the California gray whale is quite similar in many of its biological details to those which appear to be general in the commercially important species.

It should be kept in mind, however, that this whale is the most primitive of the living baleen-bearing whales, and it seems to represent the point in the evolutionary sequence from which the two main groups diverged. The California gray whale is the sole survivor of a family of whales which in past eons was represented by many species. It has a smallish head with a limited filtering mechanism. Its dependence on foods which are found only near to shore is considered further evidence that it is primitive. Likewise its need for harbors to calve suggests that it has not lost its dependence on the nearshore habitat, even though it can safely cross the wide Pacific. The extremely restricted and separated distribution pattern of the whale is typical of an old, primitive species which persists either in its preferred ancestral home, or which occupies less desirable habitats into which it was forced by the more successful species. Recently gray whale remains were found in the Netherlands, and it is possible that it was exterminated in European waters by prehistoric whaling prior to the Ice Age.

Gray whale breaching.Photograph by T. J. Walker.

Another gray whale “spyhopping.” Notice the narrow tapering head, typical of the California gray whale.Courtesy of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Today the species is restricted to two distinct populations existing on opposite sides of the Pacific. One herd summers in the Sea of Okhotsk, migrating southward to Korea where, in the open bays, calving takes place in January, February and March. The larger population summers off the coast of Siberia and Kamchatka, migrating clear across the Pacific Ocean to California and then south to the breeding lagoons near Bahia de SebastianViscaino, situated on the outer coast of Baja California. A few whales have been noted around the tip of Baja California and in the gulf itself. These are part of a small group which calve in lagoons along the mainland of Mexico just inside the Gulf of California. It has been suggested that the recovery of the species was possible because these lagoons were unknown to whalers. It is, however, unlikely that the whalers continued to whale until they had completely wiped out the populations of the main lagoons. The inability of the species to support intensive whaling suggests both a limited population and an animal with a low reproductive potential. Since 1850 there have been three brief periods of whaling, each separated by about 20 years. Each succeeding period of whaling has been shorter, suggesting that 20 years is not a long enough recovery period.

Generally speaking, shallow water is dangerous for the larger whales, other than the gray and right whales. Strandings of the other species do occur, which can be interpreted to mean that these whales are not afraid of shallow water. However, when they strand they die. The cause of stranding is difficult to determine. Perhaps the victim is sick and drifts ashore. Most strandings occur during severe storms which quickly obscure the bottom features by stirring up the sand and mud. The stranding of the pilot whale is most dramatic because entire groups will come ashore as if afraid to go back to sea. If man intercedes and helps free them, they still refuse to escape. The cause of the panic and subsequent action is unknown, although it is unlikely that the action is mass suicide as so colorfully described in newspaper accounts. Most other strandings suggest that the whale was out of its normal habitat.

The gray whale, however, has no difficulty in this dangerous region, and in fact they negotiate the treacherous turbid channels of the lagoons, notwithstanding the strong tidal currents which flow through them. They have also been observed rolling in the surf in water barely deep enough to float them. Should stranding occur, they seem to realize that it is only momentary as another swell will come along to free them. For the other species, stranding produces fright and struggling which only exhaust them and lodge them deeper into the bottom. Death usually results from overheating, although it is noted that a stranded whale finds it difficult to breathe normally because the weight of the body out of water crushes the chest cavity.

At the present time it is difficult to understand why the lagoons are used by the gray whale for calving. It may be an ancestral behavior trait which has been inherited. It is most likely, however, that the quiet waters facilitate birth and nursing during the time the baby is gaining strength for the long migration. The observation that the whales may roll and rub themselves against the muddy banks has led to some conjecture that the lagoons help control the skin parasites.

You may wonder whether the lagoons, which are limited in number and in extent, may control the size of the population. Lagoons are subject to change in size and depth through geologic processes, and they may be created or destroyed. The lagoons which are used by the whales are remote and seldom visited by man. You wonder whether the whales would continue to use them if they were also used much by man. The California gray whale has not used San Diego Harbor for over 100 years. Perhaps San Diego Bay was used because the other lagoons were then overpopulated. Certainly the total population of whales has never again reached the numbers which existed before the whalers started.

It has already been mentioned that the gray whale was described by Professor Cope in 1868-69. The scientific name by which he tagged it,Rhachianectes glauca, describes the fact that the whale is blue-gray in color, and that it frequents rocky reefs. Because the species did not resemble any other whale, he placed it in a separate family, the Rhachianectidae. Cope was not aware that paleontologists had found and described fossils of whales which were very similar to the gray whale. Of course, the paleontologists working in Europe did not know that there was a living representative of these fossil whales which they had namedEschrichtius. However, this oversight was finally realized by Dutch cetologists Van Deinse and Junge, who in 1937 corrected the mistake by placing the gray whale in the genus Eschrichtius, discarding the old genus name Rhachianectes. If you wish to search the scientific literature on the gray whale prior to 1937, you must look for it under the old name Rhachianectes. This is not the first or last time a scientific alias will be produced; yet this one serves to dramatize the fact that the gray whale is truly a living fossil, which is a reminder of some of the evolutionary steps over which the other whales passed to gain the structural and behavioral features needed to occupy the many areas of the oceans.

Infra-red photograph of a gray whale. Note the lingering spout and the blow holes at the forward end of the surfaced whale.Photograph by T. J. Walker.

The California gray whale is known by other common names, such as “Koku Kujira” of the Japanese, which means “the devil fish.” This indicates the cleverness of the gray whale and the dangers associated with hunting it. Whalers universally considered this species the most difficult to whale and the only one which might charge the boat. Gray whales certainly seemed to learn quickly the dangers to them from whaling. Captain Scammon considered this species the most interesting, giving it top billing in his book on theMammals of the Pacific Coast. He reports that it was standard practice in the lagoons to kill the baby in order to lure the mother into harpoon range. In these encounters, the whalers showed great courage standing the charge of the angry mother, as they took a chance of losing their boats and their lives. The females of other whale species have a strong maternal instinct, but none of them seems to be so consistently willing to fight for its young as the gray whale.

We still do not know much about the behavior of the gray whale or the other filtering whales. At present, the people who are best informed on this subject are the whalers. They can ill afford to waste valuable time trailing whales which are too wary to be approached. In general, feeding whales are easiest to approach, being intent on feeding and completely oblivious to the approach of a whaling vessel. At other times, the whales are disturbed by the least noise. Ordinarily, once a whale is harpooned, it attempts to escape its tormentors, rather than turn and demolish the boat, which of course, would have put an early end to whaling. In the instances where a whale has rammed a boat, it is usually an accident, occurring during the death flurry. However, there are exceptions, and of course, these make whaling hazardous.

One question about whale behavior that remains somewhat unanswered is—how much rest do whales require? There have been indications that the California gray whale in the lagoons of Lower California may rest a good deal. However, the question of sleep during the long migration or on the feeding grounds, has not been answered, and as yet attempts to determine this have been hardly more than preliminary tries. In orderto succeed at this venture, observers must be able to remain close enough to the whales at night to be within sound of the spouts. Limited visibility at night, and the amount and direction of the boat’s drift, make it difficult to keep contact with a whale spouting only once every 4 to 15 minutes. The scientists who sail with the whalers to study whales are too busy with the daily catch to consider this problem of how much a whale sleeps. Occasionally, a whale is struck by a ship during the night, and this is considered as indirect evidence that the whale was asleep on the surface.

The California gray whale is not believed to be particularly gregarious. The groupings observed at the lagoons are thought to be due to the limited areas which are available for mating and calving. There is some indication that they form groups during their migrations. Russian observers say that early in autumn groups gather and start out on the migration. The Japanese have noted groups of moderate size remaining together during the crossing of the Bering Sea. As yet no one has attempted to trail a group of grays along the entire migration route. Not only would this establish the route, but might also add to our knowledge about their behavior en route.

At San Diego three categories of migrants have been observed on the southward migration. During the early and middle periods of the migration, many individual whales are seen apart from the group. These are believed to be pregnant females. They travel at about 4 knots and surface frequently, about every 3 minutes. The migrating groups of three to five are believed to be nonpregnant females accompanied by one or more males. These are already courting, and it appears that the males are jousting for the attention of the females. At any rate, the migration is less hurried, and the individuals spend a great deal of time on the surface, blowing and milling about. Such groups are seen principally during the middle part of the migration, and they are easiest to sight. They afford the spectators at Cabrillo National Monument quite a show. Not infrequently, these groups put on a display for an hour or two. It is difficult to observe all the details of courtship, but it is believed that during mating the animals lie quietly in the water. On the migration, the courting whales roll over in the water extending the flippers alternately like spars. Mating generally takes place near the lagoons and also in the lower ends of the lagoons. A few matings have been observed at Point Loma.

Occasionally the gray whale will burst out of the water at about a 45 degree angle, and will turn over, falling back with a tremendous splash. This is called breaching, and its significance is not known. Although it is considered part of the courtship behavior, this is difficult to reconcile with the observation that it is more frequently displayed by solitary migrants. Whales may breach more than once, and in fact, one was observed to jump repeatedly, as many as 25 times within an hour’s passing of the Point Loma area. Here one or two migrants will breach each week. Unfortunately, the act takes place so quickly that you only notice the final splash, at best obtaining only a quick glimpse of the whale’s massive body. However, this sight repays many hours of patient watching.

Toward the end of the season you see that the migrants are smaller and closer to shore, frequently just beyond the surf. These are believed to be last year’s young, making the trip alone for the first time. They not only swim more slowly, but they also seem to wander into the kelp and into every irregularity of the coast. Those which enter the kelp may raise the head vertically out of the water in an action called spyhopping. They are obviously trying to find a passage through the kelp. The fact that the gray whale does not spyhop regularly on its migration along the shore must mean that its orientation is based either on the sound of the surf or the depth of the water. Spyhopping is apparently employed by the whales in the lagoons, and it has been observed frequently for the other species in the ice floes of the polar seas.

The role which whaling has played in man’s conquest of the oceans has never been given full credit by historians. Initially, man was content to fish along the shore, and then gradually he pushed out on the waters in sight of land. Here he learned to be a skilled fisherman, and he began to hunt the coastal whales. Man gradually developed the boats, gear, and the know-how, called seamanship, and gained the courage to venture farther and farther from land. Even as late as the 15th century sailors were extremely superstitious and believed in sea monsters. There was, of course, a certain basis for these imaginings. Periodically, a large whale would strand or float ashore and it is easy to understand how these tremendous and misshapen remains could have kindled the imagination. Whaling was an extremely hazardous profession, calling for the utmost in nautical skill. Throughout the development of the maritime resources of some European states, whaling was one of their most profitable businesses. Even though a great deal of shipbuilding was initiated by man’s speculative desire to find new lands and to conduct trade, an equal amount was for whaling vessels. From the Middle Ages to nearly the end of the 19th century, oil from whales illuminated some homes and streets. Whale meat was an important source of protein for peoples who had not yet developed extensive animal husbandry.

For over five centuries whales have been under attack by professional hunters, and long before that by the aboriginal peoples of many lands. The reason whales have withstood this hunting pressure better than land animals is due to the fact that their ocean habitat has not been invaded by man for agriculture, and in the days of sailing ships and hand harpooning, the whale was a formidable prey, far more so than in our present day of motorization and automation. The tremendous area of their habitat made it difficult and time consuming for man to find them, and his ignorance of their migration routes and the oceanographic features which cause whales to disperse and congregate gave the whales some protection. Technological advances, powerful harpoon guns and totally mechanized factory ships in the whaling industry have swung the advantage to man, and whales are now in peril of extinction as is the whaling industry itself.

History tends to stress the great explorers who discovered new worlds and the larger islands of the Pacific. However, ships cannot with full safety, ply the seven seas until every island and shoal has been found and charted, and ships cannot safely venture near any shore until the adjoining waters have been systematically charted. The principal discoverers of these danger spots have been the whalers who patiently combed so much of the oceans in their search for whales. Every island has on it the calling cards of Whalers who put ashore for water, food, fuel, or just to stretch their legs and to satisfy their curiosity. This isn’t to say that they had the time to make hydrographic surveys, but at least their log books defined the areas where surveys would eventually have to be made. Whalers lived adventure, and danger was their common lot. It is not surprising that much of this adventure would find its way into the hearts of men through yarns and tales such asMoby Dick.

Whaling was practiced long before historic times. The coastal Eskimos of the arctic Americas and of Greenland and Spitzenberg practiced whaling. Whales were approached in skin-covered boats and even from the edge of ice floes. These peoples are differentiated ethnically on the basis of the variations in their whaling techniques, in their whaling gear and in their religious preparations for whaling. It took great courage to whale in such frigid waters where an overturning meant death. It is not surprising that these peoples looked to supernatural deities who required a very complex ritual to insure a safe and successful hunt.

The principal method of hunting involved coming up alongside the whale so that the man in the bow, the whaling captain, could spear the chest. If he were lucky enough to drive the shaft between the ribs, the lung could be pierced and the whale would be mortally wounded. Each time the whale surfaced the boat would attempt another approach and lancing. The stone tip of the lance was detachable, and when freed, led to an inverted sealskin float by a long line of twisted sinews. These floats marked the location of the whale during submergence. Eventually the whale, weakened by loss of blood and by fright, would die and then came the chore of hand pulling the whale ashore for feasting and reprovisioningthe village’s storehouses. The captain of the boat and his crew were considered the most skilled and important of the hunters. Whaling was an ancestral skill which was passed on generation to generation with great care. The villages could ill afford to lose their best men, or the equipment which was difficult to make.

There are interesting variations to this method. Aleutian islanders prepared a poisonous coating for the harpoon tip which was sufficiently toxic to kill the whale. This was prepared from the deadly aconite by a secret process, depending upon the concentration of the alkaloid poison from the root. Eskimos from Greenland and Spitzenberg dried another secret coating on the harpoon tip which consisted of a bacterium which produced fatal blood poisoning in the whale. In either method the whalers waited for the bloated carcass to surface and then they hauled it ashore for eating. Apparently the spoiled meat had no ill effects on these peoples, but of course, much of their food was spoiled during the summertime.

Much of the religion of these primitive peoples centered around the need of giving the whaler and his crewmen the necessary courage and confidence to perform this job. Religious ceremonies were held weeks before, and again after, every hunt. Some of the deities were whales, and whales also figure predominantly in many of their folk tales.

The European and American whalers came in direct contact with the Eskimos competing not only for whales, but also for seals, walrus, and fur-bearing animals. Today, Eskimos use harpoon guns and sturdy wooden whale boats. However, the entire village still turns out to drag a whale ashore. Each village kills only what it requires for food and oil through the long arctic winter. They hunt the arctic bowhead whale, although the smaller white whale (beluga) is also hunted. The bowhead has never recovered from commercial whaling, even though it has been protected for years by the International Whaling Commission. The regulations however, do not apply to the aborigines, but their needs should not have prevented the whales from becoming plentiful again.

The Indians who occupy the coastal waters of south Alaska and British Columbia are excellent salmon fishermen, but do not whale, even though they possess magnificent boats suitable for this. However, at the entrance to Puget Sound and south along the Olympic Peninsula live Indians who hunted whales as recently as 50 years ago. They whaled in much the same way as did the early Eskimos, with detachable stonetipped lances and sealskin floats. It is believed that the whale they hunted was the California gray. Boats were hewn from the massive trunks of cedars. From the bark and wiry branches, a tough flexible line was woven, strong enough to withstandthe terrific pull of the whale. These Indians repeatedly lanced the whale until its death. The generation of Indians who knew this skill is gone, and the present generation only remembers vaguely the tales of their grandparents. The Washington State Historical Museum in Seattle has managed to interview the old-timers and collect their gear which is now on display there.

The Kamchadal and Chuchee Eskimos whose villages looked out on the summer grounds of the California gray were not inclined to whale. They did, however, feed on any which happened to wash ashore.

Commercial whaling began in Spain during the Middle Ages. At that time the black right whale was plentiful along the coast of the Basque province, and it provided an ideal quarry because it could be sighted from lookout towers along the coast and it was not difficult to approach. Equally important, these whales floated at death so they could be pulled ashore. They were prized for their oil, meat, and the baleen which was sold throughout Europe. The Biscayan whalers gradually reduced the local population of whales and began to range farther in their search. They came at last upon the haunts of another right whale which frequented the ice-filled seas of the North Atlantic. Here there was not a satisfactory method to preserve the meat so this was thrown away.

There is an extensive and fascinating history of this early whaling but only the briefest outline can be mentioned here. Throughout the story there is a constant search for new whaling grounds to sustain operations and to meet the increased demand for whaling products. As the industry expanded it was forced to capture less desirable species because the other species could not hold up against the onslaught.

Other nations took up whaling and soon the English and Dutch had large fleets of ships manned by Basque whalers. These ships were based in Greenland and Spitzenberg. The irregular coastlines of these wind-swept lands provided many harbors in which shore whaling stations could be situated. The camps were well constructed, and daily during the arctic summer, the ships put out for whales in waters which were rough, cluttered with icebergs, and shrouded in fog. Naturally, under such difficult conditions, there was great loss of ships and men. The companies were not friendly with one another and periodically raided the shore camps of each other, stealing and burning supplies and buildings. Under normal circumstances such activities would have been provocative of war. However, since communications were poor and the countries concerned were preoccupied with colonizing America, the situation took care of itself, for in time the whales diminished and the whaling companies failed.

Cutting-in, from the bookNimrod of the Sea or The American Whalemanby Wm. M. Davis.Courtesy San Francisco Maritime Museum Association.

Soon after this the colonists in America wrote to relatives in Europe about the richness of the country, not the least of its resources being the whales which spouted just off shore along the entire Eastern seaboard. Whaling companies were formed and these were concentrated along the New England coast. After the separation of the colonies from England, whaling developed locally with the ships which had been engaged in commerce between the colonies and the mother country. It did not take long to exhaust the populations of whales, so the Whalers began to range afar.

This led to the discovery of the haunts of the sperm whale in the open oceans of the tropics and subtropics. Yankee ingenuity developed a new kind of whaling in which the whales were brought alongside the base ship for processing. It took a great deal of skill to strip the blanket of fat from a whale which was three-fourths submerged and pitching and rolling on the restless surface. The blubber once removed, was hauled aboard and cooked in kettles to free the oil which was then placed in barrels and stowed below. This form of whaling was called pelagic whaling. It was not uncommon for ships to be away from home port for a year or two before the casks were full. This whaling was dominated by the Americans, and it contributed much to the prosperity of New England, providing much of the capital which later financed its manufacturing developments. This was the golden era of whaling so superbly described by Herman Melville inMoby Dick. Here is a real yarn about whaling written by a Whaler who later became a superb author.

The discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania brought to the fore new illuminating fuels, kerosene and natural gas which were much cheaper than whale oil, so the whaling industry declined rapidly. This happened at the same time steam ships were replacing sailing ships, so it is not surprising that the beautiful sailing vessels which had been the mainstay of whaling were brought home to every little coastal village in New England to rot away, sad memorials to better days.

By the 20th century whaling was again possible because of new uses for whaling products. Chemistry has succeeded in finding new uses for whale oil. Fat derivatives such as soaps, margarines and a few other products owe their abundance and low cost to the whaling industry. Packing house technology has been applied to the butchering of whales so that the entire animal has many uses. Tasty meats are finding their way into the diets of many countries and the tougher, less tasty parts are ground and used to feed cats and dogs. Farms that raise mink and other mammals for the fur trade are heavy buyers of this source of meat to feed their animals. The remaining parts, blood, bones, and meat scraps, are dried and ground into nutritious meals which are used by the poultry and livestock industries as supplementary feeds. Currently each whale produces over $5,000 worth of products.

The heart of the processing operation is the pelagic factory ship which is nearly as large as an aircraft carrier. They are supplied by huge tankers which carry off the oil and by refrigerated ships which return the meat to port. In the 20th century the United States has not seriously participated in whaling and has not a single fleet in competition with the other countries which now have billion dollar investments in ships and gear. For the past 70 years, the leader in the whaling industry has been Norway. The industry is very competitive however, and England, Japan, Netherlands, USSR, and Germany have big investments.

The Norwegian lead was due principally to Svend Foyn who invented the harpoon with an explosive head. The harpoon was fired by a deck-mounted cannon and it had sufficient range and accuracy to permit killing those whales which heretofore were too fast and wary to be handlanced. The harpoon head had a time delay bomb which insured that the explosion occur deep in the vitals, and that the whale was made fast to a manila line so that it would not be lost. The cannon is mounted in the bow of a small fast ship known as a killer boat. These little ships operate for 1 or 2 days away from the factory ship in search of whales. The gunner who is responsible for firing the cannon is the most important member of the crew and on his experience and skill depend the entire operation. If he misses or fails to kill the whale, it will alarm the other whales and a day or two of searching may have been in vain.

Whalebone drying; from the bookSan Francisco Whalingby Pacific Steam Whaling Co., San Francisco. Ships in picture—theJ. D. Peterson the right and the steam whalerOrcaon the left.Courtesy San Francisco Maritime Museum Association.

Trinidad, Calif., whaling shore station; two humpback whales on the platform.Courtesy San Francisco Maritime Museum Association.

The whaling season is extremely short and as soon as the yearly quota has been reached, all countries must stop. Naturally every country tries to get as many whales of the total as possible. Once a whale is killed, it is hauled alongside, and the body cavity is inflated with compressed air to make the whale buoyant. It should be remembered that the whales which are now being processed are the “wrong” whales and they would otherwise sink. The whale is then flagged, lighted, and a radio transmitter secured to it, and it is cast adrift while the killer boat continues to search for more victims. At the end of the hunting period, the killer boat retraces its route, picking up the whales it has killed. These are secured to the sides of the ship and brought back to the factory ship for processing.

Naturally, the technological improvements which make whaling profitable again would have been meaningless without the discovery of new whaling grounds. About 1900 the seas around the antarctic continent were found to be teeming with whales. These were principally three species—the humpback, the finback, and the blue. The blue whale is distinguished by the fact that it is the largest mammal on earth, reaching sometimes 100 feet in length and weighing over 100 tons. It is the species preferred by whalers but it is not as plentiful as its close relative, the finback, which is the second largest species, ranging in length from 60 to 80 feet. The humpback whale has never been too abundant, but along with the rorqual, or Sei whale, it has provided an extra dividend for the business.

The extreme richness of the antarctic whaling grounds is due to the fact that the entire perimeter of the continent is open to oceanic waters, allowing whales free access to a tremendous area of fertile waters. The limited richness of the arctic whaling grounds is due to the fact that the Arctic Icecap is flanked principally by the land masses of Eurasia and North America and the whales have access only to those portions opening from the Bering Sea and to a small area in the North Atlantic. Whales cannot swim too far in along the coast of either mainland because the period of open water is brief. Even in the antarctic whales tend to work near the ice floes and occasionally get caught by the sudden closures of the ice.

It is too difficult to estimate the number of whales which were taken from the arctic during the many seasons that whalers worked there. However, it cannot compare with the numbers which are realized annually from the slaughter around Antarctica. As many as 45,000 whales have been taken in a brief whaling season of less than 2 months. Contracting governments under provision of the International Agreement For Regulation of Whaling enforce the regulations as regards the number taken and there is a penalty if a juvenile whale is killed. Nursing mothers are also protected. The regulations are made by the International Whaling Commission and the number of whales which can be taken each year is determined from the statistics of the populations and these quotas are recommended by the Commission. It is hoped that by these regulations and studies, the industry can continue to prosper. The problems and activities of the scientists, the majority of whom work for the various governments’ agencies, will be considered shortly.

Blubber ready to process at the Moss Landing, Calif., whaling shore station, photographed 1919.Courtesy San Francisco Maritime Museum Association.

No account of whaling would be complete without mention of the shore and lagoon whaling of the California gray whale. There were 11 shore whaling stations scattered along the coast of California from San Simeon to San Diego, which had two stations. This whaling dates back to the gold rush days of California. It was not an uncommon experience for a whaling ship to come from the east and then to lose the entire crew in San Francisco before they could get on into the North Pacific to whale.

Although the principal profit for these whalers came from the arctic bowhead, it was customary to return to San Francisco to resupply in the autumn, and then to whale the California gray during the winter migration. Of course, this was whaling made to order because there was no need to search. The shore stations were able to process more whales in a day than a vessel could in a month of routine searching. Captain Scammon followed the migrating whales to the lagoons where he found them calving. These lagoons became the headquarters for the whaling ships which found whaling even easier than they had along the migration route. One of these lagoons still bears Scammon’s name.

It was possible to watch the killing of whales from Point Loma, and from this vantage point the whaling boats were directed by flag signals to their quarry. The whales, once killed, were towed, tide permitting, by the hard rowing of the whaling crews back to Ballast Point. The numerous California shore stations have long since closed and rotted away and the grounds occupied with new enterprises. Most of the details of this era are lost, forever or buried in yellowing manuscripts and newspapers.

Although the gray whale may have been easy to find and to approach,whalers noted that those which escaped had learned the implications of whaling and thereafter were difficult to take. Lagoon whaling was particularly hazardous because the mothers frequently would charge the boats. Much of the time of the ship’s carpenter was used repairing the damaged boats. Of course, the exposure of the breeding and calving grounds to whaling had a catastrophic effect, for the whales soon disappeared. It is decidedly difficult to determine from the limited records which remain just how abundant the gray whale was before whaling started. One is likewise puzzled by the report that a thousand a day passed San Diego. If this estimate had been made by an experienced whaler, it might be reliable, but if it were made by a layman, it could be most inaccurate. It is doubtful that anyone would have actually counted the whales for even an hour, so that the figure is probably an exaggeration.

The decline in the abundance of the gray whale occurred during the period when whaling was nearly over because of the low price of oil. Two brief subsequent attempts to whale this species produced only a small return of individuals, leaving the species virtually extinct.

In 1937 the International Whaling Commission declared the gray whale a protected species and forbade its members from whaling it. The population has recovered noticeably in the past 10 years, but it is too early to predict when it will level off. In 1959 it was estimated that the total population was somewhere between 3 and 5 thousand. It is hoped that the whaling nations will be content to honor their gentlemen’s agreement to protect it until recovery is complete.

Already the whale has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of Californians and tourists who have been thrilled to see such an animal. Currentlyeach season excursion boats are transporting visitors on a 2-hour excursion practically out onto the backs of the whales. It is hoped that the pleasure which it offers man will transcend the brief monetary profit which might accrue to a few whalers. It would indeed be shortsighted to let commercial interests deprive man of such a unique whale which can be enjoyed so easily by so many.

There is real need to protect the gray whale for scientific studies. The principal problem in the study of populations of whales is to learn how large the population is and what are the various forces which limit its size. Such knowledge would make it possible for the industry to decide how many whales could be taken each season without reducing the population. The concept of taking only those whales which would overpopulate the habitat is an attractive one, and this would be in the long run, most profitable and stabilize both the whale population and the industry. Such knowledge also would prevent the overexpansion of the industry, which would also reduce the profit and hasten the decline of the resource.

Up to now, the studies which have been made to gain this knowledge have to be made on populations which are under severe exploitation. The researcher can never be certain that his findings are normal and useful in estimating the total population. The California gray whale provides him with a control population which is not under predation by man. Furthermore, this population becomes concentrated during breeding and calving and briefly during migration so that counting the total population is feasible.

There is no doubt that the whaling industry will resume the harvest of the California gray whale once it has recovered. This is indeed unfortunate as the species is neither abundant nor large enough to provide much profit. Certainly history will repeat itself and the grand spectacle of the California gray whale migration will require another thirty or more years to repeat itself. The future status of the California gray whale may not necessarily have the same fortunate outcome, as the whaling industry at the present time is much more thorough. Furthermore, competition between the various whaling nations makes adjustment of regulations slow and cumbersome—much too slow for a species so limited in numbers and so accessible to complete extermination.

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