CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WiLLARD FiSKE Endowment Cornell University Library QL 727.S72 3 1924 024 782 744 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024782744 THE SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. THE SEALS AND WHALES BRITISH SEAS. THOMAS SOUTHWELL, F.Z.S. WITH ILL USTRA TIONS. ilontion : JARROLD AXD SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS. [.4// Rights Reserved^ 1881. INTRODUCTION. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. Although at no period entirely neglected, as is apparent from the frequent reference to the subject by old authors, and from the known richness in species of the British Fauna, compared with that of the Continent of Europe, the study of the Marine Mammalia of the British Seas has, of late years, received more than usual attention, and the advance made in the knowledge of these creatures, has been rapid in proportion. Nor is it surprising that, to the inhabitants of a densely-peopled country like the British Isles, the terrestrial fauna of which must, of necessity, be very restricted and familiar, the study of the mammals fre- quenting its seas and shores should be possessed of a peculiar charm. The uncertainty and rarity of their occurrence, their exceptional forms, the mystery which shrouds their origm, heightened by the romance which surrounds the seas and high latitudes forming the chief home of so many species, must always render them objects of the greatest interest. Not only is this the case on the coast, but even in inland districts, whither — notably to London and Birmingham — Cetaceans have been brought, both hving and dead, at great ex- pense, and from long distances, to gratify the growing interest which has manifested itself, in these remarkable animals. Under these circumstances it is surprising that no modern book, especially devoted to this subject, exists ; those who would inform themselves must search out the scattered records dispersed in the publications of numerous Scientific Societies, or procure works, which, excellent as they may be, are much more comprehensive in scope, and too expensive to be within the reach of many into whose hands it is hoped this little book may come : the author has, therefore, striven to supply what is certainly a desideratum, viz., a cheap, plain, but, he hopes, trustworthy treatise on the Marine Mammalia of the British Seas. Originally published in the form of a series of papers in the pages of Science Gossip, the following account of the " Seals and Whales found in the British Seas " has been brought down to the present time, and much new matter added, not the least important of which is that devoted to the claims of the Atlantic Right-Whale to a place in the British fauna. INTR on UCTION. Doubtless, rare specimens are often lost to science for want of identification, and all tliose interested m their study have experienced the frequent disappointment which attends the bare announcement of " a Wliale on shore : " in many instances no attempt is made to determine the species, m others it is evidently wrongly-named, or, although perhaps a more or less elaborate description may be given, not a single feature is indicated by which it may be identilicd. One special object m reproducing these pages is to assist, by means of the most accurate figures which could be obtained, and short descriptions of the more important characters to be observed in each species, in determining those specimens which, from time to time, are landed by our fishermen, or cast dead upon the shore. Elaborate or technical des- criptions have been carefully avoided, but short accounts of the habits and distribution, so far as known, of each s]5ccies have been given, with the hope of interesting others in the study of this, even now, too-much-neglected branch of Natural History. To the more advanced student the numerous relerences may be useful for indicating the sources whence detailed information of a more technical character is to be obtained. The usefuhicss of this little manual, which pretends to no originality, but in the compi- lation of which no labour has been spared to insure accuracy, will, it is hoped, be greatly enhanced by the Illustrations ; they were either engra\'ed from original drawings, or copied iVom the most trustworthy sources (indicated in the text) ; several of them have since been adopted by the latest publications on the subject, both in England and America. For the use of 20 of the illustrations, out of a total of 29, the author is indebted to the kindness of Mr. David B'gue, who obligingly lent the blocks originally engraved for the papers in Science Goss?/> . The author has to acknowledge, with many thanks, thcrkind assistance afforded him by Mr. J. W. Cl,'\rk, Superintendent of the i\Iuseum of the University of Cambridge, and a recognized authority on the Cetacea and Pinnipcdia. He, also, has to record the services in behalf of this little work, rendered by one, who, beloved and lamented by many friends, has passed away since it has been in the press — the late Mr. Ed\v,\rd Richard Alston. The wound inflicted by the early death of that amiable and promising naturalist is too fresh to admit of further reference. Norwich, March 1881. I NDEX Atlantic Right-Whale . Balana biscayensis „ mysticetus Balaiioptera boops borealis (Note) laticeps inusculus rostrata sibbaldii Beaked Whale Beluga Bottle-head „ Bottle-nose Dolphin . Broad-fronted Beaked Whale Cachelot Cetacea Cuvier's Whale Cystophora cristata Delphinapterus leucas Delphinus acutus „ albirostris „ deductor „ delphis . „ globiceps „ me las „ phoccena „ tursio Dolphin, Bottle-nosed „ Common . ,, Risso's „ White-beaked „ White-sided . PAGE. 6i Epiodon desmarestii . 6i Globicephahis melas 49 Grampus, Common 70 „ Risso's 128 Grainpiis cuvieri 77 „ griseus . 70 Greenland Right-Whale 7S 75 101 Halichccrus grypkus Hump-backed Whale , 108 Hyperoodon but:;kopf lOI ,, latifrotis . 124 „ rostratmn lOI Lagenorhynclius acutus „ albirostris S5 44 Megaptera longimana 102 Mesoplodnn sowerbiensis . 24 Monodon vwnoceros . Mystacoceti 108 125 Narwhal 125 Odontoceti 118 131 Orca gladiator 118 Phoca baikalcnsis . 118 ,, discolor 120 „ gi-a;nlandica 124 „ hispida . 124 „ vitulina 121 Phoccena communis . "5 P/iysalus antiquorum 125 „ latirostris 125 Physeter macrocephalus PAGE. 118 "3 49 28 69 loi loi lOI I2S 125 69 105 106 49 106 8S 113 17 17 21 14 II 120 70 75 85 INDEX. F.AClt. Pilot Whale . . iiS Tfichcclius rosnianis . Pinnipedia .... 2 Tursio Inincatiis Porpoise . 1 20 Pseudorca crassidcns 114 Walrus Risso's Grampus - "5 \\'hale, Atlantic Right Rorqual, Common „ Lesser ,, Rudolphi's (Note) ., Sibbald's Rorqualus inijior . 70 78 • 77 128 • 75 7S Beaked Bottle-head ,, Broad-fronted . „ Cu\"icr"s ,, Greenland Right ,, Humpbacked Pilot . Seal, Common . 1 1 ,, Sowerby's . „ Greenland 21 „ Sperm . „ Grey . 28 „ White ,, Hooded, or Bladder-nosed 24 White-sided Dolphin . ,, Ringed, or Marbled 14 White-beaked Dolphin Sibbaldiiis borcalis 75 ■Sowerby's Whale . 105 Ziphioid Whales Sperm Whale Q- Zipliius cavirostris PAGE. 124 32 61 lOI lOI lOI 102 49 69 118 105 S5 loS 125 98 ERRATA. Page 77, bottom line, for Physalis read Pliysaliis. „ 126, for albci'ostris read alhirostiis. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Figure i. — HiND FLIPPERS OF Ringed Seal . ... .2 „ 2. — Skeleton of Seal . . . . ,12 „ 3. — Ringed or Marbled Seal . . . .15 ,, 4. — Greenland Seal ...... 20 „ 5. — Hooded Seal . . . . . -25 „ 6. — Grey Seal ...... „ 7. — Walrus ...... „ 8. — Vacca Marina ...... 29 37 9. — Head of Walrus . . . . . -39 10. — Sea Horse (after Cook; . .41 II. — Section of Skull of Whalebone Whale . . .46 12. — Greenland Right- Whale . . , . . 51 13. — Atlantic Right-Whale ... .60 14. — Common Rorqual ..... 71 15. — Lesser Rorqual . . . . .80 16. — Sperm Whale ...... 84 17. — Chair in Great Yarmouth Church . . . .87 18. — Back View of ditto, ditto . .87 19. — Skeleton of Sperm Whale . . . .88 20. — Skull of Ditto ...... 90 21.— Head of Sowerby's Whale ..... 104 22. — Beluga, caught by the tail . . . . 109 23. — Grampus . . . .112 24. — P sender ca crassidens . . . .114 25. — Risso's Dolphin . • . . . . , 116' 26. — Pilot Whale . . . . . 118 27.— Common Dolphin . . . . . .122 28. — Bottle-nosed Dolphin ..... 124 29. — White-eeaked Dolphin . . . . .126 Table of British Cetacea ...... 48 Differences of British Mystacoceti . . .82 Seals and Whales BRITISH SEAS The two great groups of Marine Mammals known as Pinnipedia and Cetacea, although widely separated from each other zoologically, naturally present themselves to us side by side as inhabiting the same regions ; the facilities for studying the one are also equally favourable for obtaining a knowledge of the other. It is remarkable that in few groups of the animal world, until recently, has so much confusion existed as in the Seals and Whales. This has, of late j'ears, through the labours of European and American naturalists, to some extent been remedied, although very much still remains to be done, the literature of the subject being still so scattered, that much of it is inaccessible to the ordinary student. The arrangement and nomenclature adopted in the following short account of the Seals and Whales inhabiting or occurring in the seas, or on the shores, surrounding the British Islands, is, that used by Mr. Alston in the second edition of Bell's ' British Quadrupeds.' B SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. PINNIPEDIA. The Pinnipcdia (fin-footed) forms a well-marked sub-order of the Car- nivora, and may be divided into three distinct families — the Phocid(£, or true Seals ; the TricJiccliida;. represented by one species only — the Walrus; and the OtariidcB, or Eared Seals. Fig. I. Hind Flippers of Ringed Seal (after Muric). A, opened out ; B, closed. The Phocida; are found both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, most plentifully in the cold regions, but extending into the temperate seas ; in the Northern hemisphere they are found as far south as 40'' N. latitude; two species, however, are said to be sub-tropical. The true Seals may readily SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 3 be distinguished by the absence of external ears, and the position of the posterior limbs, which are not adapted for progression on land, but admirably suited for propelling the animal through the element in which it obtains its sustenance. These limbs are directed backwards, and compressed laterally, the soles of the flippers being turned inwards, and are only free from the ankle-joints. (Fig. i). Like the whole group, the Seals are carnivorous. Five species are believed to have occurred on our shores. The family of TrichccJiidcB is limited to one genus, and that consisting of only one species, the Walrus or Morse, which is essentially Arctic in its habitat, and on our coasts can only be regarded as a very rare and accidental straggler; in this animal there is no external ear; its limbs are adapted for raising the body from the ground, thus enabling it to progress by their means upon dry land. The third family, Otariidcs, consists of several genera and species (according to Gray) ; they are distinguished from both Phocidce and Tricheclms by the presence of external ear-conchs, and from the former by the structure of their limbs, which are free and adapted for progression upon land, where at a certain season they take up their abode for a considerable period. Dr. Pettigrew also points out that the fore-feet are hardly used by the true Seals as means of propulsion in the water, whereas in the Eared Seals they form the chief organs used for that purpose, and in the Walrus all four limbs are employed. The Eared Seals inhabit the lonely shores and islands of the Pacific Ocean and South Seas, where they are hunted for their skins ; the beautiful " seal-skin " of commerce, so much prized for its lustre and softness, being the dyed and prepared under-fur of some members of this family. The Otariidce are not represented in our fauna. The true Seals spend most of their time in the water, but visit the shore or ice to bask in the sun or bring forth their young; this last takes place early in the summer, and it is seldom that more than one is pro- SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSLL SEAS. duced at a birth. Some species enter the water ahnost immediately after birth, but others are two or tliree weelcs before they leave the ice, quitting it at first very unwillingly, but soon becoming expert at swimming and diving. The power of the Seal to remain beneath the water for lengthened periods Dr. Wallace* believes to be acquired rather than structural. Their food consists of Crustacea and fish, with an occasional sea-bird. Some species are migratory in their habits. In disposition they are usually timid and gentle, and capable of attachment, when in confinement, to those who feed and attend them. The Bladder-nose and Grey Seals, however, appear to be exceptions to this rule; the former is said to be fierce and vindictive, rather courting than fleeing from danger, and altogether a formidable opponent. Their great affection for their young is made use of by the sealers for their destruction. Although Seals are not found in sufficient numbers round our own coast to be of any commercial value, in the Northern Seas, where they congren-ate in vast numbers at the breeding season, the seal-fishery is of great importance as a branch of industry, and finds employment for a large number of vessels and men, both from this country and from the ports of Northern Europe. In the Greenland seal-fishery the Norwegian whalers had in 1874 sixteen steamers and nineteen sailing-ships, with an aggregate tonnage of g.ooo tons, manned by 1,600 sailors, and in the three years ending 1S74 they killed 142,500 young Seals and 128,000 old ones, notwithstanding which the balance-sheet of the three years showed only a small profit on the steamers and a large loss on the sailing vessels.! A" official return issued by Messrs. David Bruce and Co., of Dundee, shows that in the season of 1879, eleven Dundee ships and five from Peterhead, were engaged in the Greenland seal-trade ; the total catch of these • Dr. Robert Brown on the ' Seals of Greenland.' Reprinted, with additions, in the ' Manual and Instructions for the Arctic Expedition, 1875,' from the Proc. Zool. Soc, 1S6S, pp. 405-440. + Land and Water, August 26th, 1S75. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTISH SEAS. 5 sixteen ships was 35,044 Seals ; four ships from Dundee visited Newfoundland and captured 70,355 Seals, making a total for the British ships alone of 105,399 Seals, exclusive of those wounded and lost, or otherwise destroyed. These pro- duced 1280 tons of oil, worth about ^25 per ton, or ^32,000, exclusive of skins, which sell for about 5s. each. The majority of the Norwegian vessels also bring their cargoes to this country. Captain David Gray informs me that the seal-fishery was commenced from the Port of Peterhead, in the year 18 19, since which time to the close of the season of 1879, the large number of 1,673,052 Seals have been taken by the vessels belonging to that port. The Dundee vessels did not take part in the seal-fishery till the year i860, but have from that time to 1879 taken 917,278 Seals. This total is greatly swollen by the results of the Newfoundland fishery; four Dundee vessels in 1879 took 70,355 Seals in Newfoundland, whereas, in the same season, eleven Dundee and five Peterhead vessels took only 35,044 Seals in the Greenland fishery. The Dundee ships, after the Newfoundland fishery is ended, generally land their oil and skins at St. John's, and proceed on their whaling voyage to Greenland and Davis' Straits. Dr. Wallace* estimates the annual produce of the Greenland Seal-fishery alone at the sum of /{J^i 16,000; the bulk of the seals taken are the Harp- Seal (Plioca grcenlandica). Several attempts had been made to establish a seal-fishery at Newfound- land, from the port of Dundee, but with small success till the year 1876: in that year Messrs. Alexander Stephen and Son secured premises at St. John's, and sent out two vessels to be manned chiefly by a Newfoundland crew ; the result was a great success, and this firm has since prosecuted the fishing with very satisfactory results. The Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Com- pany have also three steamers in the trade, in addition to those engaged at * Dr. Brown's 'Seals of Greenland,' Proc. Zool. Soc, June, lS68, reprinted in the 'Arctic Manual,' p. 67. 6 SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRLTLSLL SEAS. the Greenland fishery. Mr. David Bruce, of Dundee, to wliom I am indebted for the above particulars, informs me that the season of 1880 was a failure in the Newfoundland fishery, and that out of a fleet of twenty-four steamers, not more than six of them would pay their expenses. Mr. J. A. Allen* gives an interesting account of the rise and progress of the Newfoundland fishery, which he characterises as " the sealing-ground, par excellence, of the world, twice as many Seals being taken here by the Newfoundland fleet alone as by the combined sealing-flects of Great Britain, Germany, and Norway, in the icy seas about Jan Mayen, or the so-called 'Greenland Sea' of the whalemen and scalers." So early as 1721, thousands of "sea-wolves" were killed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but, according to Mr. Michael Carroll, of Bonavista, Newfoundland, in his account of the 'Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland,' published in 1873, as quoted by Mr. Allen, it was not till the year 1763 that the seal-fishery was regularly prosecuted there by vessels specially equipped for the purpose. The trade, however, rapidly assumed importance, and in 1807 thirty vessels from Newfoundland alone were engaged in it. In 1834 the Newfoundland fleet had increased to three hundred and seventy-five, besides a considerable number of vessels from Nova Scotia and the Magdalen Islands; in 1857 the number of vessels employed appears to have reached its maximum, exceeding three hundred and seventy, whilst the catch of Seals was estimated at 500,000. About the year 1866, steamships were first introduced, and have ever since been increasingly employed ; the result has been a steady decrease in the number of vessels, which, in 1871, were reduced to one hundred and forty-six sailing vessels and fifteen steamers, or less than one-half, but the number of Seals taken annually, up to 1873, appears to have remained about the same, * 'History of North Americcm Pinnipeds,' by Joel Asaph Allen. U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, Miscellaneous Publications, No. I2, Washington Government Printing Office, 1880. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 7 and, notwithstanding the enormous destruction of these creatures, which takes place every season on the Newfoundland sealing grounds, many thousands of which, from the wasteful methods employed in their capture, are never accounted for, Mr. Carroll is still of opinion that up to the year 1873, their numbers were actually on the increase : this can hardly continue much longer to be the case. I will only mention one of the methods employed by the Newfoundland sealers, which must eventually be attended with the most disastrous effects. This mode is technically called "panning." Mr. Carroll, writing in 1871 says, "No greater injury can possibly be done to the seal-fishery than that of bulking Seals on pans of ice by crews of ice-hunters. Thousands of Seals are killed and bulked, and never seen afterwards. When the men come up with a large number of old and young Seals, that cannot get into the water, owing to the ice being in one solid jam, they drive them together, selecting a pan surrounded with rafted ice, on which thousands of Seals are placed one over the other, perhaps fifteen feet deep. A certain number of men is picked out by the ship-master to pelt and put on board the bulked Seals, whilst other men are sent to kill more. It often happens that the men are obliged to go from one to ten miles, before they come up with the Seals again, and very often the men pile from five hundred to two thousand in each bulk, which bulks are from one to two miles apart; care is also taken that flags are stuck up as a guide to direct the men where to find such bulked Seals. So uncertain is the weather, and precarious the shifting about of the ice, as well as heavy falls of snow and drift, that very often such bulked Seals are never seen again by the men that killed and bulked them, as the vessels and steam- ships are frequently driven by gales of wind far out of sight or reach of them, and frequently wheeled or driven into another spot, when the men again commence killing and bulking as before. In many instances it has happened that the crews of vessels, as well as the crews of steamships, have killed and SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. bulked twice their load. No doubt Seals that are bulked are often picked up by the crews of other vessels, but such is the law, that as long as the flags are erected upon the bulks, and the vessel or steamship is in sight, no man can take them, notwithstanding the vessel's or steamship's men that bulked them may be ten miles away from them, whilst another vessel may be driven within a quarter of a mile of thousands of bulked Seals, but, owing to the law, dare not take them." The skins, if left, are also liable to injury by the frost or sun, or by the capsizing of the pan they may be totally lost. In the spring of 1S72, some five thousand Seals, obtained to the westward of Bona- vista, by the inhabitants of that place, were heaped upon the ice. " There were thirteen flags to be seen in the morning over bulked Seals, and when the drift ice struck the land in the evening, only six of the flags were visible, the ice having rafted over both flags and Seals. Some days after, when the ice moved off from the shore, several bulks of Seals were found, but in such a putrid state that they could not be handled.* Comment upon the conse- quences which must speedily result from such lamentable waste of life is needless. Nor, until very recently, was the seal-fishery in the Greenland Seas prosecuted with any greater regard to humanity or economy. " Supposing the sealing prosecuted with the same vigour as at present," says Dr. Brown, " I have little hesitation in stating that before thirty years shall have passed away, the seal-fishery, as a source of commercial revenue, will have come to a close, and the progeny of the immense number of Seals now swimming about in Greenland waters will number but comparatively few." Dr. Brown's remarks were written in the year 1868, and the prediction is already virtually fulfilled: a report, giving an account of the success of the Dundee vessels employed in the Newfoundland seal-fishery in 1877, after stating that 39,000 ' ' Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland,' pp. 32-34, as quoted by Allen, /. c, pp. 551-r SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 9 Seals were said to have been captured by two vessels, concludes thus : — "Previously all Dundee vessels were employed at the Greenland seal-fishing, but Captain Adams has for some years been of opinion tliat that ground is practically used up, and hence his visit to Newfoundland." I will spare the reader, as much as possible, a repetition of the horrors of this cruel trade, and make only a single quotation from a letter written by an old and experienced sealer. Captain David Gray, of the steamship Eclipse. He says that five ships in 1873 shot among the old Seals for four days until the pack was utterly ruined. " I suppose," he continues, " about 10,000 old Seals had been taken. Add 20 per cent, for Seals mortally wounded and lost, gives an aggregate of 12,000 old ones; add 12,000 young ones which died of starvation (their parents being killed before the young ones were of any value or able to shift for themselves), gives 24,000. . . . Tlie whole of the young brood was destroyed, and had these Seals been left alone for eight or ten days, I am quite within the mark when I say that, instead of only taking 300 tons of oil out of them, 1,500 could as easily have been got, and that without touching an old one."* So great are the cruelties perpetrated by the crews of the sealers, that even the men themselves, hardened as they are, sicken at the work, and cry shame that the law does not put a stop to them. Let anybody who cares to know what fearful cruelties man is capable of perpetrating for gain, read Captain Gray's letter. As a remedy for this waste of life (of course its cruelties can only be modified) Captain Gray suggested that the ships should be kept from sailing before the 25th of March, about a month later than they then started ; they would then not reach the fishery and find the young Seals until they were sufficiently grown to be worth killing, and the frightful waste of life which occurred from the destruction of the old Seals before the young * Land and Water, May gth, 1S74. 12 SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRLTLSH SEAS. common, and on the Cornish, and some few otlier favoured locahties of the Enghsh coast it is still well known ; on other parts of our shores it is decidedly rare. In the great estuary between the Norfolk and Lmcoln- shire coasts, called the "Wash," this species frequents the sand-banks left dry at low water, and, doubtless, many young ones are produced there annually. At birth, which takes place about the month of June, the young Seal is covered with a coat of white woolly hair, which is shed in parturition, or shortly after, and the young one takes to the water when only a few hours old. Mr. Bartletti gives' an account of the birth of a young one (at the time Fig. 2. Skeleton of Seal. believed to be Ph. hispida) in the Zoological Gardens,* and states that it completely divested itself of its coat of fur and hair in a few minutes, and was swimming and diving about within three hours of its birth ; its mother turned on her side to let it suck, and its voice was a low, soft " ba." The first coat is not shed so quickly in some species, nor do they all take to the water at so early an age ; as, for example, Ph. grcciilaiuiica, which is two or three weeks before it leaves the ice. Proc. Zool. Soc, iS68, p. 402. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. 13 The total length of the adult is about 4 to 5 feet, and its coat is generally of a yellowish colour, thickly spotted with black on the back and upper parts, but less distinctly so on the sides. The under parts are a bright silvery hue ; there is, however, considerable variety in colour and in the distinctness of the spots. This species is readily domesticated, and displays great intelligence, and even affection for those who feed and tend it. Almost everybody must have been struck with the docility displayed by the Seals which are occasionally ex- hibited as "talking fish." At the Zoological Gardens and at the Brighton and other Aquaria, where they are a never-failing source of attraction, their graceful movements in their confined homes cannot fail to excite admiration. Swim- ming silently and swiftly along, the animal threads with the greatest accuracy the intricacies of its narrow pond, assuming every possible attitude, and turning over and over in its course, as much at ease when swimminsr on its back as in its usual position. When, tired with this exercise, it comes to the edge of its pond and raises itself out of the water, its rounded head, and bright, full black eyes have something almost human in their expression, and the fabled " mermaid " seems a reality ; but when once it leaves the water, it is clearly seen that it is no longer in the element in which it is destined to live and move, for its motions are laboured and awkward in the extreme. It throws itself along, first on one side and then on the other, just as a man tightly sewn in a sack would do, but, notwithstanding its clumsiness, contrives to make considerable progress. This species may be distinguished by the arrangement of its molar teeth, which are placed obliquely along either side of the jaw, not in a line with each other. It has been said that this is only a characteristic of youth, and that the peculiar arrangement disappears " before the skull attains its maximum size." In the second edition of Bell's ' Quadrupeds,' however, the authors express their belief that "it will be found a characteristic of all ages, although certainly more marked in the young than in very old animals." 14 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. Dr. Brown says that the Greenland Seal {PIi. grccnlandica) in its second coat has often been mistaken for this species, but that the former may readily be distinguished by its having the second toe of the fore-flipper the longest. The hair next the skin is short and woolly, but externally harsh and shining, admirably adapted for repelling the water in which the animal passes so much of its time ; the whiskers with which the upper lip is furnished, are thick, flattened hairs, laterally compressed, presenting diamond-shaped inequalities : this form of bristle is found in all the British Seals, whereas Phoca barbata, a species shortly to be mentioned as of doubtful occurrence on our coast, has the bristles compressed, but smooth. The food of the Common Seal consists of fish and crustacea. THE RINGED, OR MARBLED SEAL. The only recorded instance of the occurrence of the RINGED SEAL, PJioca hispida, of Schreber, on the British coast, is that of an individual captured on the Norfolk coast, in June, 1846, and purchased by Mr. J. H. Gurney, in the flesh, in the Norwich fish-market, the skull of which is now in the Museum of that city. Although no other instance of its occurrence is on record, it seems not improbable that it may occasionally be met with, and pass unrecognized. In the first volume of the ' Magazine of Zoology and Botany,' Mr. Wilson, in a paper on the Scottish Seals, speaks of a small Seal which was sometimes seen in the Hebrides, and believed by the natives to be a distinct species : this was rendered probable by their not associating with the Common Seals, and not being so wild in their nature. It is thought that this small Seal may have been Ph. hispida. Small dark-coloured Seals have more than once been seen on the Norfolk and Lincolnshire coast, or exhibited in the towns, which it is quite possible also may have belonged to this species. That it inhabited the coast of Scotland h I % 1 s; 6/) SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. 17 in the past, there is evidence in the abundance of the remains of this species found in the glacial clays of that country, as identified by Professor Turner.* The small Seal found in the inland fresh-waters of Lake Baikal is believed to be a variety of this species, differing only in its darker colour ; it has, however, been separated, under the name of Pli. baikalcnsis by M. Dybowski {Arch. f. Anat. u. Phys., 1873, p. 109). The type of Ph. discolor, F. Cuv., was taken in the Channel, and, according to De Selys-Longchamps, this species has also occurred on the Belgian coast. At present its home is the high latitudes of the Arctic seas, especially parallels ^6 and yj deg. North, and many are killed in South Greenland. In Davis's Straits it is found all the year round, particularly up the ice- fjords; in Cumberland Gulf it is said to be by far the most common Seal, and forms the principal food of the Esquimaux. This was the only species found by the late Arctic expedition north of Cape Union, Z2° 15' N. lat. Captain Feilden, the Naturalist to Sir G. Nares' Arctic Expedition, in an account of the ' Mammalia of North Greenland and Grinnell Land' {Zoologist, 1877, p. 359), thus speaks of this species: — "The Ringed Seal was met with in most of the bays we entered during our passage up and down Smith Sound. It was the only species seen north of Cape Union, and which penetrates into the Polar Sea. Lieutenant Aldrich, R.N,, during his autumn sledging, in 1875, noticed a single example in a pool of water near Cape Joseph Henry, and a party which I accompanied in September, 1875, secured one in Dumbell Harbour, some miles north of the winter quarters of the "Alert": its stomach contained remains of crustaceans and annelids. In June of the following year I observed three or four of these animals on the ice of Dumbell Harbour. They had made holes in the bay ice that had formed in this protected inlet. The polar pack was at this * Journal of Anatomy and Physiology', 1870, p. 260. i8 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. time of the year firmly wedged against the shores of Grinnell Land, and so tightly packed in Robeson Channel that no Seal could by any possibility have worked its way into this inlet from outside. I am, therefore, quite satisfied that Plioca hispida is resident throughout the year in the localities mentioned. A female killed on the 23rd August, 1S76, weighed 65 lbs." This species has, therefore, probably the most northerly habitat of any existing mammal. Dr. Brown, in his paper on the ' Greenland Seals ' (' Proc. Zool. Soc, June, ]S6S,) gives an interesting account of this species, which, like the preceding, is littoral in its habits, seldom frequenting the open sea, 'but found generally in the neighbourhood of the coast ice, in retired situations. It is known by the whalers as the " Floe rat," and its food consists of various species of Crustacea and small fishes. This is the smallest of the Northern Seals, and of very little commercial value : its flesh, however, is eaten, and its skin forms the chief materkd of clothing in Greenland. In appearance, this species is very lik-e the Common Seal; but it is darker in colour, more particularly on the back, and the spots in the adult are surrounded by oval-shaped whitish rings ; the young ones are lio-hter in colour. The old male is said to emit a most disgusting smell : hence one of its specific names, "fcetida." Dr. Rink says that this unpleasant odour is more developed in those which are captured in the interior ice-fjords, "which are also, on an average perhaps, twice as large as those generally occurring- off the outer shores. When brought into the hut, and cut up on its floor, such a Seal emits a smell resembling something between that of assafoetida and onions, almost insupportable to strangers. This peculiarity is not notice- able in the younger specimens, or those of a smaller size, such as are generally caught, and at all events the smell does not detract from the utility of the flesh over the whole of Greenland." * 'Danish Greenland, its People and its Products,' p. 123. e. i^ g < o SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 21 The molar teeth in this species are arranged in a straight line along the jaws, and not obliquely, as in the common species. As this Seal is very likely to pass unnoticed, should it occur on our coast, it will be well to bear in mind that this arrangement of the molars will at once distinguish it from PIi. vititlina, the only species with which it is likely to be confounded. Professor Flower has given a minute description of the skull of the Norfolk specimen in the ' Proc. Zool. Soc.'' for 1871, pp. 506-12. The figure of this species is copied from Karl Thorin's ' Grundlinier Zoologiens Studium,' p. 53 (Stockholm, 1S68). THE GREENLAND SEAL. The claims of the GREENLAND Seal, PJioca grccnlandica (Fab.), to a place in the British Fauna, although long considered highly probable, were not rendered perfectly conclusive until 1874, when they were satisfac- torily established by Professor Turner's identification of a Seal killed in January, 1868, near the viaduct on the Lancaster and Ulverstone Railway, and now preserved in the Kendal Museum. Professor Turner (' JoiLrnal of Anatomy and Physiology! vol. ix. p. 163) says that he has himself examined this specimen, and found the dentition exactly to agree with that of the skulls of the Greenland Seals with which he compared it. The individual in question, a male, measured six feet from the tip of the nose to the " point of the hind toes," and the colour indicated the age to be about three years. Previously to this, the claims of this species to a place in our list rested principally upon the skulls of two Seals killed in the Severn, and exhibited by Dr. Reilly at the meeting of the British Association at Bristol in 1836. These skulls were at first referred by Professor Nilsson to Ph. 1) SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSLL SEAS. liispida, but afterwards, both by that gentleman and Professor Bell, deter- mined to belong to Ph. grcciilandica. Doubts having been thrown on the accuracy of this decision, Professor Bell, in the second edition of his ' British Quadrupeds' p. 253, again states his belief that he was correct in assigning them to the )'oung of this species. These specimens are unfortunately lost. Several supposed cases of the occurrence of this species are recorded, but in no instance were they supported by the production of the animal itself. Dr. Saxby {' ZooL' 1S64) says that this Seal is not rare in bad weather in the Voe of Baltasound, Shetland ; and Mr. H. Evans, of Darnley Abbey, Derby- shire, in the year 1S56, shot what he believes to have been a Greenland Seal near Roundstone, county Gahvay, — " Unfortunately, the animal sank and was lost ; but Mr. Evans, who is well acquainted with the common and grey species, is perfectly certain that it was quite different from either" (Piell, 2 edit., p. 254). Perhaps the best authenticated case of the supposed occurrence of this species on our shores is given by Mr. H. D. Graham in Part I., vol. i. of the ' Proceedings of the Nat. Hist. Society of Glasgow,' p. 53 (Feb. 24, 1863), Three large white Seals were seen by Mr. Graham in Loch Tabert, Jura, Western Isles, l}"ing on some shelving rocks, about 300 or 400 yards from the shore. They were watched through an excellent deer-stalking telescope for three hours, and Mr. Graham states that the characteristic markings of the Harp Seal could be distinctly seen. He also believes that, in three authentic instances, captures of white Seals, of extraordinary size, had been made, and states some particulars of the habits and appearance of these animals, as communicated to him by the islanders — to whom they appear to have been well known, — which render it highly probable that they belonged to this species. Mr. J. A. Harvic-Brown* also saw four Seals, which he believes to have been of this species, on a rock in * 'Mammalia of Ihe Outer Hebrides,' Frof. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow, 1879, p. 95. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 23 the Sound of Harris, on May 2nd, 1870. They took to the water, but as they " kept close in, and often rushed past within a few feet " of where he and his companion were standing, they had an excellent view of them, and " the large splashy-looking dark marks on either side of the back " were distinctly visible. Although essentially an Arctic species, this animal has a very wide geographical range, which, added to its migratory habits, renders it not at all improbable that individuals occasionally wander to our shores. This species is a native of the Arctic Ocean, and ranges from the N.E. coast of America to the Kara Sea (where it was found by the Swedish Arctic Expedition in 1875), changing its quarters according to season.* It is this species which constitutes the chief object of pursuit in the northern Seal- fishery, and the season chosen for the attack is when they visit the ice for the purpose of producing their young ones. Dr. Brown says, " They take to the ice, to bring forth their young, generally between the middle of March and the middle of April, according to the state of the season, &c., the most common time being about the end of March. At this time they can be seen literally covering the frozen waste, with the aid of a telescope, from the 'crow's-nest,' at the main royal mast-head, and have on such occasions been calculated to number upwards of half a million of males and females."t The young, when born, are pure white, which changes to a yellow tint. At about 14 days old they begin to take to the water, and at the age of a month are capable of taking care of themselves : they then assume a spotted coat, which changes gradually to the adult markings, which are perfected in about three years. The adult male is about five feet long, the body generally of a tawny * Ph. grcenlandica was the only Seal met with by the Austrian Arctic Expedition, in the Tegelhoff n August, 1873, the ship then drifting in the ice in lat. 79° 31', long. 61° 43'. Subsequently both this species and Ph. barbata were met with about North lat. 81°. + 'Seals of Greenland.' Reprinted in 'Manual aitd Instncctions for the Arctic Expedition, 187s,' p. 47- 24 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. grey, varying to nearly white, marked with a conspicuous band of dark brown or black spots running into each other, which, commencing on the upper part of the back between the shoulders and curving downwards, is continued along the sides, disappearing before it reaches the hind flippers. The under parts are a dingy white, and the muzzle nearly black. The female, according to Dr. Brown, rarely reaches five feet in length, and is a dull white or yellowish straw-colour, tawny on the back, and with similar markings to the male, but somewhat lighter. Some are bluish or dark grey on the back, with "oval markings of a dark colour apparently impressed on a yellowish or reddish-brown ground : " these. Dr. Brown believes to be young females. The adult Greenland Seal is readily recognized, but it varies so greatly in its different stages of immaturity, and individuals differ so much from each other, that the most trustworthy characters are to be found in the dentition and the structure of the skull, which should in all cases be preserved, as affording the most ready and reliable means of determining the species of doubtful individuals. As has before been said, the second toe of the fore flipper is the longest in this species. HOODED SEAL. The Hooded or Bladder-nosed Seal, CystopJwra cristata (Erxleben), fig. 5, has occurred at least thrice upon our shores. In June, 1847, a young one was killed in the Orwell, and is now in the Ipswich Museum; in 1872 a second young one was killed in Scotland near St, Andrew's ; and a third specimen, an adult male, was caught in February, 1873, at Frodsham, on the Cheshire side of the Mersey, and lived in captivity till the beginning of the following June (Pr. Liverpool Soc. xxvii. p. 63). Others arc believed to have fiifm W'^r iW"!?!! yk ]ii|,i nw. il'lii " I'i'P i- '9 '1, O' ►J < Q o o K SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTISH SEAS. 27 been obtained in tlie Orkneys. Mr. Howard Saunders was assured that the " Bladder-nose " is well-known as a visitor to the Vae Skerries, Shetland (Alston's 'Mammalia of Scotland,' p. 15); and a Seal supposed to be of this species was seen off the Irish coast near Westport. In Hollingshed's 'Chronicles,' in the year 1577, sundry fishes of monstrous shape, with cowls on their heads like monks, and in the rest resembling the body of a man, are said to have occurred in the Firth of Forth (Bell's 'Brit. Quads.'), the appearance of which was of course followed by pestilence and famine. Throughout the Polar seas this species is widely distributed, being found in the Greenland seas, Iceland, and Spitzbergen, also occasionally in the temperate waters of Europe and America. It is polygamous and migratory in its habits : during the rutting season it is very pugnacious, and Dr. Brown says great battles take place between the males, and their roaring is said to be so loud that it can be heard for miles off The young, which are born in April, are pure white at first, which changes to grey, and gradually becomes darker till it assumes the adult colour and markings, which it appears to do about the fourth year ; the colour then is " dark chestnut or black, with a greater or less number of round or oval markings of a still deeper hue." The adult is furnished with a curious bladder-like appendage, commencing at the nostrils, with which it is connected, and continued upwards to the forehead : this, when inflated, presents a very remarkable appearance ; when the animal is at rest it remains flaccid, but when irritated or excited, it is blown up to its full extent. It is generally believed that the "bladder" is found only in the male, but Dr. Brown does not think there is any just ground for this belief; he does not, however, assign any reason for doubting what has been positively asserted to be the case. The Bladder-nose Seal is fierce in its nature and dangerous to attack ; although not actually taking the initiative it is always ready for battle, and will avail itself of any advantage by turning upon and following its opponent. The air-bladder, which is placed 28 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS in the spot usually most vulnerable, renders it difficult to kill, as it forms a protection from the clubs of the sealers. This is one of the largest of the Northern Seals, varying, according to different authorities, from 7 to 10 or even 12 feet in length. The first toe of the fore flipper is the longest. THE GREY SEAL. One other species of true Seal, the Grey Seal, Halichcerus gryphus (Fab,), claims a place in the British Fauna. Dr. Brown says the Grey Seal " has no doubt been frequently confounded with other species, particularly PJi. barbata and Pli. grccnlandicar Such has undoubtedly been the case, and a specimen in the British Museum, long regarded as Pli. barbata, has been referred to this species. There is, I believe, no sufficient evidence that Pli. barbata has ever occurred on the British coast ; but so imperfect even now is our acquaintance with the Seals which frequent our shores, that it may even yet be found. As before mentioned, the bristles forming the " whiskers ' of Ph. barbata, are simple flattened hairs, without the impressed pattern found in the bristles of the known British species ; they are nearly the same thickness throughout, and sharply curved near the end. The Grey Seal has been found on various parts of the coast, from Shetland to the Isle of Wight ; the Orkney and Shetland Isles, the Hebrides, and the west coast of Ireland, however, appear to be its chief places of resort on our shores ; it has also been known to breed on the Fern Islands. Haskier Island, off North Uist, has long been known as a favourite breeding- place of this species. Captain Elwes, who visited this island on the 30th June, 1868 ('Ibis,' 1869, p. 25), informed Mr. Harvie-Brown that, up to the year 1858, an annual battue was held there in the month of November, when SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 31 the Seals resort to the rocks with their young ones, and that from forty to one hundred, old and young, would be killed. This wholesale destruction has been put a stop to, and as it is extremely shy and difficult to approach at other seasons, it is to be hoped that this species may for some time escape extermination in this favourite resort. According to Bell, this species inhabits the " temperate northern seas rather than the Polar waters," and is found in the North Sea, Baltic, Iceland, Scandinavia, Denmark, and North Germany. Dr. Brown met with a specimen a little south of Discoe Island, but can only speak of its claims to a place in the Greenland Fauna as strongly probable. Bell gives some interesting information with regard to the habits of this species as observed in various British stations, and calls attention to the remarkable fact, that whereas in this country it produces its j'oung in the months of October and November, on the Continent this is always said to take place in February ; he suggests, to account for this singular discrepancy, that in our milder climate pairing takes place much earlier than in Scandinavia. The young, which are born white, are suckled for about a fortnight ; the first coat is shed before they take to the water, which is not for some weeks after birth. The colour varies with age, sex, and season, so much, that it is not of great service in their identification, their large size being the best external guide. Lloyd, in his ' Game-birds and Wild-fowl of Sweden and Norway,' speaking of this species, says that even should it somewhat resemble the Common Seal in size and colour, as is at times the case, it may alwaj's be readily distinguished from the latter by the greater length of its claws and the superior breadth of its muzzle. The claws project considerably beyond the ends of the toes, the first of which is the longest. The general colour of the adult is greyish, tinged with yellow, and spotted and blotched with darker grey ; the under parts lighter. The length of the adult varies from 7 to 10 feet. By the form of its skull and teeth it is readily distinguished, 32 SEALS AND JVIIALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. as well as by the great size of the animal. In the skull the brain-case is small, the nasal opening very large, and the grinders conical, only the two hinder pair in the upper, and the last pair in the lower jaw, double- rooted, the rest simple. Professor Bell, in his history of 'British Quad- rupeds,' gives the generic and specific characters, as well as excellent figures of the skulls of the various British Seals, which will be found most useful in determining the species of any doubtful individuals ; other figures will be found in Dr. Gray's 'Catalogue of the Seals and Whales in the British Museum.' THE WALRUS, OR MORSE. Of the many strange forms which the Zoological Society of London has been the means of introducing to the staj'-at-home naturalists of this country, certainly not the least interesting is that of the Walrus {TricliecJms rosmariis, Linn.) It is true that in neither of the instances in which the young animal has been brought alive to the Gardens, has it long survived in its new home ; but, short though its residence amongst us, the opportunity has been afforded to many of becoming acquainted with the Arctic stranger in propria persona, instead of through the distorted medium of the badly-stuft'ed skins, or the equally bad representations of this interesting animal, which, until recently, we have possessed. The first recorded appearance of the Walrus in this country was, I believe, in 1624, when, according to Halcluyt's ' Pilgrimes,' a young one was brought to England by Master Thomas Welden, in the G"()(/- jr/m;', and duly presented at Court. In 1853 the Zoological Society became possessed of a }'oung one, which lived only a few ilays in their Gardens. On the 1st of November, 1S67, another was received, which lived till the 19th of December, when it unfortunately died, notwilhstandin"- the care SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISLL SEAS. 35 bestowed upon it, both as regards food and accommodation. Tliis last was captured by the whale-ship Arctic, on the 28th of August, 1867, in lat. 69° N. and long. 64° W., and brought to Dundee, whence it was conveyed by Mr. Bartlett to the Society's Gardens. The captain of the Arctic saw two or three hundred walruses basking upon the ice, and sent out his boats to the attack : among the killed was an old female followed by her young one ; the latter was taken on board and eventually brought to England. Although now confined to the icy seas of the Arctic circle, the Walrus was probably not uncommon on our shores in times long past. The skull is said to have been found in the peat near Ely, and Hector Boece, in his 'Cronikles of Scotland,' mentions it as a regular inhabitant of our shores in the end of the 15th century: in the present century it has occurred several times, although it must be considered as a very rare straggler, sadly out of its latitude. Wallace says that its fossil remains have been found in Europe as far south as France, and in America probably as far south as Virginia, and it was common in the Gulf of St. Lawrence so late as 1770 (Leith Adams). In recent times it has retreated before its great enemy, man, from the northern coasts of Scandinavia to the circumpolar ice of Asia, America, and Europe, sometimes, but rarely, reaching as far south as lat. 60^. In Smith's Sound the Walrus does not appear to move further north than Cape Frazer, the meeting-place of the polar and southern tides : at this point Captain Feilden saw a single example. Whenever met with, it is the object of ruthless persecution, and is rapidly and surely becoming exterminated wherever man can reach it ; and but for its ice-loving habits, which render its present strongholds always difficult, and sometimes impossible, of access, it would doubtless long ere this have become extinct. Recently it has been met with on our shores, according to Bell, on the coast of Harris in 1817; in the Orkneys in 1825 ; one was seen in 1827 in Hoy Sound, but not captured; and in 1841 one was killed near Harris. E 36 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. Dr. Brown also states that two were seen, one in Orkney and the other in Shetland, in 1857. Prof. Heddle also informed Mr. Harvie-Brown that in 1S49 or 1850 he saw an adult, and a young one, off the coast of the parish of Walls, in Orkney (Harvie-Brown, Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Glasgow, 1879, p. 97.)* The Tricliechus may be considered as intermediate between the true Seals and the Eared Seals, to both of which families it has affinities : it is carnivorous, feeding on mollusks, fish, and when it can get it, the flesh of whales. The stomach of one, examined by Captain Feilden, contained a large amount of green fluid oil, in which small particles of Ulva latissima could be detected, and minute fragments of the shells of Mya. Its habits were so well and succinctly described by Captain Cook a hundred years ago, that I cannot do better than quote his own words, the accuracy of which has since been amply confirmed. Whilst in Behring's Straits, in lat. 70° 6', and long. 196° 42', on the 19th of August, 1778, Cook first met with the Walrus; "they lie," he says, " in herds of many hundreds upon the ice, huddling one over the other hke swine, and roar or bray very loud ; so that in the night, or in foggy weather, they gave us notice of the vicinity of the ice before we could see it. We never found the whole herd asleep, some being always on the watch. These, on the approach of the boat, would wake those next to them, and the alarm being thus gradually communicated, the whole herd would awake presently. But they were seldom in a hurry to get away till after they had * A communication in Land and IVater for Dec. 20, 1879, p. 524, signed " R. M,," states that about the 20th of June, 1S79, a Wahus was seen off the west coast of Skye. "He was seen lying on a rock near the shore, on a fine calm evening, near enough to remove all doul^t as to the identity of the animal. ... The huge tusks were quite easily distinguished." On being disturbed, it is said to have rolled into the water, and swam a short distance to another rock, on which it was seen to climb ; after a little time it again took to the water, and was seen no more. As no names are given, it is impossible to investigate this report, or to judge what degree of importance should be attached to it. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. 37 been once fired at, then they would tumble one over the other into the sea in the utmost confusion ; and if we did not at the first discharge kill those we fired at, we generally lost them, though mortally wounded. They do not appear to us to be that dangerous animal some authors have described ; not even when attacked. They are rather more so to appearance than in reality. Vast numbers of them would follow and come close up to the boats, but the Fig. S. Vacca marina (reduced from Gesner). flash of a musquet in the pan, or even the bare pointing of one at them, would send them down in an instant. The female will defend the young one to the very last, and at the expense of her own life, whether in the water or upon the ice. Nor will the young one quit the dam, though she be dead ; so that if you kill one you are sure of the other. The dam, when in the 38 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTISH SEAS. water, holds the young one between her fore-fins."* Since Cook's time the Walrus has learned to fear man, its only enemy except the Polar Bear, and is more difficult to approach. When wounded, or its young in danger, it has been known fiercely to attack the boats sent for its capture, striving to over- turn them, and piercing their sides with its tusks : many serious accidents have been the result. The number of Walruses killed annually by the Norwegian and Russian hunters is very considerable ; probably nearly an equal number are wounded and lost. As the female produces only a single young one at a birth, which is said to remain with the mother nearly two years, " until its tusks are grown long enough to be used in grubbing up the shell mud at the sea-bottom," it will readily be imagined that the destruction is greatly in excess of the production, and that they are rapidly decreasing in numbers. A communication in the Field oi March 27th, 1880 (p. 381), received from St. Francisco, points out even more serious consequences resulting from the reckless destruction of the Walrus than the mere extermination of a species, itself a matter of no small regret. "If," says the writer, "the whalers reach Behring Strait before the ice breaks up, they remain on the coast, and often hunt the Walrus for weeks together, with startling and serious results. Last year's campaign was con- sidered successful, as about 11,000 Walruses were secured, most of them within the Arctic Sea. But to attain this result, between thirty and forty thousand animals ivere killed, so that only one-third of the number destroyed were actually utilised. There can be no doubt as to the ultimate consequence of such glaring imprudence ; but last year they were so painfully apparent as to touch even the hearts of those who occasioned them. Not that the whalers were moved to compassion by the victims themselves, but by the sufferings of the human beings who were deprived of their chief souce of subsistence. The * Cook's Last Voyage, vol. ii. p. 458, edition 1784. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTISH SEAS. 39 hardy tribes in the neighbourhood of Behring Strait hterally cannot exist without the Walrus, and so long as they were its only human enemies the number destroyed was inconsiderable. But the herds soon dwindled under the superior weapons and appliances of civilised nations, and the survivors retreated, like the Whales, towards the Pole. By the end of last season, not Fig. 9. Head of Walrus (Modified after Murie). a single Walrus was left on the coast, and the immediate result was such a terrible famine among the natives that the whalers themselves speak of it remorsefully. The population north of St. Lawrence Bay has been reduced by one-third ; and in a village which formerly contained 200 inhabitants, only 40 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. one man survived. Several of the whalers have consequently refused to take any part in future Walrus hunts on the coast ; they assert that for every hundred animals killed, a native family must perish by starvation, and they will not incur so heavy a responsibility." About the month of August they repair to the shore, and congregating in vast herds on the beach of some secluded bay, lie for weeks together in a semi-torpid condition, without moving or feeding. Should their retreat be discovered whilst in this state, great is the slaughter. Mr. Lamont, in his 'Seasons with the Sea Horses,' says that in 1852, on a small island off Spitzbergen (one of the Thousand Islands), two small sloops discovered a herd of Walruses consisting of three or four thousand, nine hundred of which they succeeded in killing, only a small portion of the produce of which, however, they were able to carry away. The colour of the Walrus is brown, paling with age, and the skin is thickly covered with short hairs ; the adult reaches the length of 10 or 15 feet, or, according to some authorities, even more, and weighs from two to three thousand pounds. Its rounded head, heavy muzzle, thickly set with stout bristles, small, round blood-shot eyes, and formidable tusks, give to this animal a ferocious appearance which is foreign to its nature, except when greatly excited or at pairing time, when the old bulls are said to fight with great fierceness and determination. A full-grown Walrus will yield from five to six hundred pounds of blubber, the oil from which, however, is not so fine as that of the Seal. The ivory tusks were formerly much used by dentists ; at present, I believe, owing to the introduction of vulcanite, very little is applied to that purpose. Mr. Lamont mentions 24 in. in length and 4 lb. each in vi^eight, as the size of a good pair of bull's tusks : a pair in the Norwich Museum measure 32 in. in length, and the heavier of the two weighs gib. 90Z. The immensely elongated canine teeth which form the " tusks," are found in both sexes, but are shorter and more slender in the SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 41 female than in the male. The skin of the Walrus is valuable for many purposes. Few animals, so long known to man, have, when figured, been represented so inaccurately as the Walrus : the hind feet are almost invariably depicted Fig. 10. "Sea Horse" (After Cook). extended backwards, like those of the Seal (so also in stuffed specimens), whereas in the living animals they can be directed to the front, and serve as ^ supports to the body in progression on the land or ice, in the same manner as the hind limbs of the eared seals. Dr. J. E. Gray, in an article ' On the 42 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. Attitudes and Figures of the Morse,' in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for 1853, pp. 1 12-16, reproduces some of the wonderful prints of this animal from old authors, most of which are purely imaginary : fig- S, p. n , is copied from one of tliese. By far the best portrait known, till quite recently, is one published in Amsterdam in 1613, where an old female and her young one are very accurately depicted : this has been reproduced in Bell's 'British Quadrupeds,' 2nd edition, p. 269. Fig. 10 is copied from the "Sea Horse," in the foreground of Cook's illustration in 'A Voyage to the Pacific,' &c., 1784 edit., vol. ii., p. 446; as will be seen, this figure forms the source from which most subsequent illustrations were derived. Fig. 7 is taken, by kind permission of the late Mr. F. Buckland, from his ' Log-book of a Fisherman and Zoologist,' and represents "Jemmy," the young Walrus, whose brief sojourn in the Zoological Gardens has already been referred to. One of Mr. Wolf's " Zoological Sketches " represents a herd of Walruses in almost every conceivable attitude, and of course beautifully drawn and coloured. Some authors recognise two distinct species of Walrus, one of which is said to be confined to the northern- shores of the Atlantic, the other to the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Allen, in the ' North American Pinnipeds,' enters at length into the subject, and minutely describes the peculiarities which charac- terise each species. Reviving, after the example of Malmgren, the almost obsolete generic name of Odobceniis, he describes the Atlantic Walrus under the name 0. rosviariis ; the animal found in the Pacific he calls O. obesiis. The chief external points of difference in the latter appear to be in the facial outline, the longer and thinner tusks, "generally more convergent, with much greater inward curvature ; the mystacial bristles shorter and smaller, and the muzzle relatively deeper and broader, in corelation with the greater breadth and depth of the skull anteriorly." The eyes are also said to lack the "fiery red " appearance attributed to the Atlantic Walrus, and to be smaller SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 43 and very protuberant. Cook's figure reproduced at p. 41, also that at p. 177 of Scammon's book, are those of Odobcenns obcsas, and the fine pair of tusks mentioned at p. 40, as now in the Norwich Museum, were probably also obtained from a Pacific Walrus. The figure at p. 33, and the excellent figure by Wolf, at p. 457 of Lloyd's ' Game-birds and Wild-fowl of Sweden and Norway,' are of the Atlantic Walrus. It is much to be regretted that the extinction of this harmless and useful animal is merely a matter of time, and that perhaps before many years have passed it may have ceased to exist ; the only hope appears to be that when it has become too scarce to render its pursuit remunerative, a remnant may still be left to continue the species around the far-off and unapproachable islands of the Arctic seas. Even in Franz Josef Land, where, in the summer of 1880, Mr. Leigh-Smith found the Walrus very abundant: it will probably not long remain unmolested, for that gentleman informed Captain Feilden that the Norwegian walrus-hunters, when they heard of his discovery, talked of pushing on for Franz Josef Land next summer, the Spitsbergen walrus- hunting having become very uncertain, from the paucity and wariness of the animals.* * 'Some remarks on the Nat. Hist, of Franz Jo.sef Land,' by H. W. Feilden, F.G.S., &c. — a Paper read before the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, Dec. 28, 1S80. F 44 Si:.-lZS AhW WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. CETACEA. The occasional stranding upon our shores of some monster member of the order Cetacea serves from time to time to reawaken our interest in these wonderful animals, and sets us thinking how little we know about them, and how small is our acquaintance with their life-history. Nor is this lack of information surprising when we consider that the diffi- culties in the way of studj'ing the larger Cetacea, are so great as to be almost insuperable to any ordinary person, and even to the leaders of zoological science rarel)' does the opportunity present itself of examining specimens in the flesh ; for, of the rare instances in which they are cast ashore, the majority occur in wild and unfrequented parts of the coast, where they are probably cut up for their oil before a naturalist has an opportunity of examining them. From their unnatural position when cast up, and their altered appearance, owing to the falling in of some parts and the distension of others, correct portraiture is almost impossible ; and their great size renders it difficult and expensive to make them serviceable to science, while from the putrid condition in which they are frequently found, a close examination is too often anything but agreeable. If seen in their native element, where alone they should he seen dul)/ to appreciate their grand proportions and perfect adapta- tion to their mode of life, the view must be brief and too often distant, certainly affording rare opportunities for close observation. There is thus little left for naturalists to study, except the bony skeletons, and of these often mere fragments, Under these circumstances, we shall cease to wonder at the great confusion which, till recently, existed in the classification and nomenclature of the Cetacea, and wjiich has been only partially cleared away, chiefly by the labours of Professors Flower and Turner in this country, and SEALS AND WHALES OF TFLE BRLTLSH SEAS. 45 by Professors Eschricht, Reinhardt, Van Beneden, Gervais, and others on the continent. The literature of the subject is widely scattered and difficult of access ; and, although Dr. Gray and Professor Flower have done much to condense and systematize what is known, our acquaintance with the tropical and southern species of this interesting order is not at present sufficient to furnish materials for a monograph worthy of the subject. No class of animals has been called so many names, or so vilely caricatured in portraits, as the unfortunate Whales. It is scarcely necessary now to say that the Cctacca hold a fully recognized place in the great class Mammalia, although this honour has not always been accorded to them. Ray classed them with the Fishes ; and although Linnceus finally placed them in their true position. Pennant, following his earlier mistake, failed to do so. The members of this order, which includes the Whales proper, Narwhal, Dolphins, and Porpoises (with which, until recently, the Dugong and Manatees were improperly associated under the name of Herbivorous Cetaceans), bring forth their young alive. These are nourished by the female, which, for this purpose, is furnished with two inguinal mammse. They are warm-blooded, and breathe by means of lungs, rendering frequent visits to the surface of the water neces.sary, as the animal can only respire when the orifice of the nostrils, called the blow-hole, which is placed on the top of the head, is above water. The breathing apparatus is very peculiar, being so modified that the air is admitted into the trachea without passing through the mouth ; the Whale can thus breathe freely, provided the blow- hole be above water, even when its mouth is submerged or filled with water. There are no external ears, but a small aperture situated just behind the eye, communicates with a perfectly-constructed internal hearing apparatus, and this, as the water is an excellent conductor of sound, is all-sufficient. The food of the Cetacea consists of various forms of marine animals, from the Seal, which frequently forms a meal to the fierce Grampus, to the minute creatures 46 SEALS AND WHALES OE TLJE BRLTLSLL SEAS. which go to build up the giant form of the Right- Whale. Some possess numerous formidable teeth in both jaws ; others have teeth in the lower jaw only ; and in one section the teeth are only present in the embryo, but in their stead, from the upper jaw depend curious plates, arranged side by side, to which the name of baleen has been given. The animal is encased in a layer of fat called " blubber," which lies beneath the skin, and serves to Fig. II. Median .Section, showing outside Left Half of Skull of Whalebone Whale, with Baleen in position (modified aficr Eschrulit). Br., Ijmin cavity; J.J"*, upper ,ind lower jaw-bones ; bo, bo, Ijeing roughened parts of the bone s.awn througli ; arrows indicate tlie narial passages, wliich open at s, spout-hole ; w, whalebone ; t, tongue, in dotted outline ; n, nerve aperture, lower jaw. retain the heat of the body, and the skin is smooth, polished, and quite devoid of hair or scales. On the back of most species is found a fleshy dorsal fin, and the fore limbs are represented by flippers externally undivided ; the hind limbs, so far as external appearance is concerned, are altogether absent, but a rudimentary pelvis is found embedded in the flesh. The tail-fin forms the SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 47 chief organ of locomotion : it is always fixed horizontally, and is of great size and power, enabling the animal, by its vigorous use, to attain great speed. There are many and striking peculiarities in the bony skeleton which it is not necessary here to enumerate. Before proceeding to give some account of the species which have been found in the British Seas, it will first be necessary to say a few words as to the arrangement of the genera and species. I shall enter into this part of the subject, however, so far only as is necessary for us clearly to understand the relative positions of the species which we shall have to consider. Professor Flower divides the order Cetacca into two sub-orders : First, Mystacoceti, or Balcenoidea, in all the members of which baleen takes the place of teeth, which are never developed, disappearing before birth ; second, Odontoceti or Delphinoidea, in which teeth (sometimes very numerous) are always developed after birth. The first sub-order is a very restricted one, embracing only two families, Balcenidce and Balcsiwpteridce, to the former of which belong the two genera of Right-Whales, Balcena and Eubalana ; and to the latter, two genera, namely, Mcgaptcra and Balceuoptera. To these two genera* belong the Rorquals, which occasionally occur in the British seas. The second sub-order, Odontoceti, contains the families of Pliyseteridce, represented by the Sperm Whale, Beaked Whale, and several allied species ; Platanistidce, consisting of some curious forms found only in India and South America; and Dc/phinida;, comprising the Narwhal, Beluga, or White Whale, Grampus, Porpoise, and Dolphins. The total number of British Cetacca has been variously estimated; Dr. Gray, in 1S64, described thirty, and in 1873 thirty-three species; while Bell, whom we shall follow, recognised only twenty-two species in his second edition, published in 1874. The following table of the British Cetacea will serve to indicate at a o-lance the precise position assigned to each species, in the two main divisions into which the order is divided : — Physalus, Benedenia, and Sibbaldtns, of Gray, are now rejected, I believe, by Prof. Flower. < w o < h o X m — 1 P ^ SO l-H m r< « m 'H K A ' 'wl o < ^ c; Uh per Whale, the best Whale, a female with sucker, was estimated at ;^i,500, and the smallest at only £\ 10. An average Whale produces 9^ tons McCuliocli's Dktionnry of Commerce. S6 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. of oil, a ton measuring 252 gallons, and 7 ft. 6 in. of whalebone ; the longest bone cut of the twenty-eight fish was 11 ft. 9 in. and the shortest 2 ft. 6 in. This was considered a very successful year. The whale-fishery was com- menced at Peterhead in 17SS ; since that time, up to the year 1879, Captain David Gray informs me that 995 voyages have been made to the Greenland and Davis' Straits whale and seal-fisheries, and there have been brought home 4195 Whales, furnishing 30,975 tons of oil, and 1549 tons of whale- bone, besides 1,673,052 Seals, yielding 20,913 tons of oil, leaving a nett profit of ^^'583, 020, or .1^586 per ship per voyage. The Dundee whale-fishery commenced in 1790, and the seal-fishery in i860; since that time up to the season of 1S79, 538 voj'ages have been made to the Greenland and Davis' Straits whale and seal-fisheries, including Labrador, which have produced 4220 Whales, yielding '^2,'jj\ tons of oil and 1640 tons of whalebone, besides 917,278 Seals, yielding 10,464 tons of oil, valued together at i^2, 160,400, leaving a nett profit of ^^652, 320, or £i2\2 los. per ship per voyage. Capt. Gray adds: "I have often been asked where all the Whales are gone to; let the above figures be the repl}-." The present price of whale-oil is from ^28 to ^^30 per ton, the whalebone ranging as high as £i\oo per ton, according to the length of the bone ; but although there are exceptions, of late years the fishery, as a whole, is said, on good authorit)', not to have paid the heavy expenses of the fleet engaged in it, nor does there seem much prospect of improvement, mineral oil being now used for many purposes for which formerly whale and seal oil was required. One of the chief uses to which whale and seal oil are now applied is in the preparation of the jute fibre, the manufacture of which is so extensively carried on at the port of Dundee, also the chief centre of the whaling trade. An interesting account of a whaling voyage in the ship Arctic, and full particulars of the mode pursued in taking, and subsequent treatment of the SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS- 57 fish, is given by Captain A. H. Marlcham, in his ' Whahng Cruise to Baffin's Bay.' * The usual length of a full-grown Right-whale is about 50 feet ; but Dr. Brown, in his paper on the Cetaceans of the Greenland Seas {P. Z. S., 1868, p. 539), gives the dimensions of one which measured 65 feet. The general colour is black. The mouth occupies about one-third of the entire length, and the baleen is from 10 to 12 feet long; it has been known to reach the great length of 13 ft. 2 in., and 9 in. in width. This baleen, which is found depending from the upper jaw, consists of a number of horny plates, similar in structure to the horn of the rhinoceros, consisting of a fibrous mass glutinated together in the solid portion, and placed transversely along either side of the palate ; they are arranged closely together, with the external edge smooth, and gradually thinning off towards the inner margin, which ends in a fringe of long hair-like fibres : the number of laminae is about 300 on each side.f Captain David Gray, of the Eclipse, an experienced whaler, in a communication to ' Tand and Water,' on December i, 1877, pointed out and first satisfactorily explained the means by which these extraordinary appen- dages are disposed of when the mouth of the Whale is closed. He shows * Space will not perniit of more than a passing reference here, but much information as to the rise and progress of the whale-fishery will be found in McCuUoch's ' Dictionary of Commerce,' article "Whale-fishery;" Scammon's 'Marine Mammals of the North-western coast of North America;' Starbuck's ' History of the American Whale Fishery ; ' Mr. C. R. Markhara's ' The Threshold of the Unknown Region ; ' Capt. A. H. Markham's book above referred to ; and above all in Scoresby's excellent works, which have been extensively laid under contribution by nearly all subsequent writers — ' An Account of the Arctic Regions, with a History and Description of the Northern Whale-fishery ' (2 vols., 1820), and ' A Journal of a Voyage to the Northern Whale-fishery,' in 1822. + Blackstone mentions a curious old feudal law, to the effect "that on the taking of a Whale on the coasts, which is a royal fish, it shall be divided between the king and queen ; the head only being the king's property, and the tail of it the queen's. ' De Slurgione obscrvdur, quod rex ilium habebit integrum : de balcna vera suffi-cit, si rex habeat caput, et regiua caudam.^ The reason of this whimsical division, as assigned by our ancient records, was, to furnish the Queen's wardrobe with whalebone " ! — Blackstone's ' Commentaries,' 1783 edit., vol. i., p. 223. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. that when the mouth is shut, the slenJer ends of the whalebone curve back- wards towards the throat, the longer ones from the middle of the jaw falling into the hollow formed by the shortness of those behind them ; when the animal opens its mouth to feed, the whalebone springs forward and down- wards, thus always by its elasticity, filling up the space between the upper and lower jaws, whether the mouth be fully or only partially open, and interposing a strainer between the cavity of the mouth and the external water, effectually preventing the food which enters the mouth from passing out with the flow of water which passes through the mouth as the great beast pursues and captures its minute food. The Whale whilst feeding swims along with its mouth open, until it has collected a quantity of the small marine animals which form its food ; then, closing its capacious under-jaw, it forces out the water between the plates of baleen, leaving the capti\'e prey stranded on its huge tongue, when it swallows them at leisure. The food of the Greenland Whale consists entirely of small marine animals, particularly a kind of shrimp, found in great abundance in the Arctic seas. This species seldom remains under water longer than from ten to fifteen minutes, returning to the surface to breathe, which, if undisturbed, occupies from two to three minutes. Capt. Gray, however, has known it when harpooned to stay under water fifty minutes. Professor Owen describes the wonderful provision for storing of blood in a vast ple.xus of blood-vessels found in the Cetacca, at the back of the lungs and between them and the ribs, thus enabling them, although lung-breathing animals, to stay under water for so protracted a period, and states that the peculiar non-valvular structure of the veins of the Cetacea, and the pressure on these reservoirs of blood at the depths to which they retreat when harpooned, explain the profuse and lethal hccmorrhage wliich follows a wound, that in other mammalia \\ould not be fatal.* * Owen, ' Anat. of V'crt., iii., ]">p. 546 and 553. Cq .5 w o, ^t, W. ; they were close alongside, and the weather at the time calm : they went away in a south-westerly direction. It would seem, indeed, that this species is not at all an infrequent summer visitor to the open sea, lying to the east of Cape Farewell. Two recent instances of the occurrence of this species on the eastern side of the Atlantic are on record, both of which were met with in winter, and in the warmer latitudes of the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea. On the 17th of January, 1854, a young one with its mother appeared in the harbour of St. Sebastian ; the mother escaped, but the little one was caught, and a drawing of it made by Dr. Monedero (reproduced in Bell's ' Brit. Quad.,' 2nd Edit. p. 387) ; the skeleton was preserved for the museum of Pampeluna, thence it was removed by Prof Eschricht in 1858 to the Copen- hagen Museum, for which he purchased it. Also, on the 9th February, 6S S£.4LS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. 1877, a Whale was captured in the Gulf of Taranto, which has been referred to tliis species, and these, I believe, are the only specimens which have been taken in European waters of late years ; it seems very probable, however, that the "Black-Whale" of the temperate shores of N. America (the B. cisarctica of Cope) is identical with B. biscayciisis, and that, although extinct on the eastern side of the Atlantic, individuals from the American waters occasionally find their way into the European seas, where the race formerly existed as a native. The skeleton of the Taranto specimen is now in the Museum of Comparative Anatomy of the University of Naples, and M. F. Gasco states positively that " both the Taranto Whale and that of Philadelphia (B. cisarctica. Cope) belong to the species B. biscayciisis, of Eschricht, which, for several centuries was pursued with avidity — I was going to say exterminated — throughout the temperate regions of the North Atlantic, first by the Basques, and then successively by the Saintongeois, the Normans, the Dutch (who called it Nordkapcr), the Danes, Norwegians, English, and Americans."* The cervical vertcbrje in the British Museum, which form the type of Gray's Halibalczna britaniiica are also believed to belong to this species. Dr. Gray did not recognize Balivna biscayciisis as a good species, and accounted for the absence of the Right-Whales, formerly found in British waters, from the disturbed state of the seas, owing to the great increase in traffic of ships, and especially steam-vessels, which, he said, "appears to restrict their visits, and especially their breeding, more to the Arctic portion • thus some Whales, which were formerly said to be common on the coast of Britain, as the Right- Whales, no longer visit this country." Eschricht, however, as before stated, has clearly shown that the habits of the northern Right-Whale and localities frequented by them have remained unchanged for many years, as proved by the record kept at the Avhaling-stations estab- lished by the Danish government on the west coast of Greenland. * 'Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.,' 1S7S (11), p. 495. SEALS AND WHALES OE THE BRLTLSLL SEAS. 69 It is worthy of remark, that in the Southern ocean there are said to be two species of Right-Whale, one Caperea antipodorum (Gray), not found further north than 40" south latitude ; the other, Eubalcena australls (Gray), found as near the equator as 2QP south latitude. The illustration at p. 60 is a reduced copy of the coloured plate in Capellini's account of the Taranto Whale (' Delia Balena di Taranto,' G. Capellmi, Bologna, 1877), the original of which was a carefully-executed water-colour drawing, made from the animal itself. BALyENOPTERIDAi. THE H U M P - B A C K E D WHALE. The next family, Balcenopteridce, is represented by two genera, Megaptera and BalcEHoptera. Like the Right-whales, they all have two blow-holes, but may readily be distinguished by having the throat and belly curiously marked with longitudinal furrows, like the ribs in a worsted stocking : they also possess a well-defined dorsal fin. The Hump-backed Whale, Megaptera longivmna (Rudolphi), the only member of the first genus known to occur in the British seas, has been recorded at least three times ; first at Newcastle in September, 1839, again in the estuary of the Dee, in 1863, and in Wick Bay, Caithnesshire, in March, 1871. Capt. Gray tells me they are not uncommon off the east coast of Scotland in summer, and tliat he has known several captured off Peterhead, three having been brought in in one season. It is possible other examples may have been mistaken for Rorquals, from which this species may at once 70 SEALS AND WHALES OF TLIE BRLTLSH SEAS. be distinguished externally by the great length of its flippers, which are white and very conspicuous. Herr CoUett says that this species is met with every spring, on the northern coast of Norway, particularly in the Varangcr Fjord ; although generall}' occurring in small numbers, it is occasionally found in great quantities. On one occasion a steam vessel was surrounded by them as far as the eye could sec, and great care had tc be used to avoid running against them. South of the polar circle, he says it only occurs in small numbers.* In August, iSSo, Capt, Gray saw vast numbers of these Whales about one hundred miles N.E. of Iceland; the sea, he states, seemed to be quite full of them as far as he could see from the mast-head. They were accompanied by a small species of " Finner," with a white band across the fin {B. rostrata). The total length of the animal is about 45 to 50 feet, its baleen is black, and the flippers, which are white and notched at the edge, from 10 to 14 feet in length. THE COMMON RORQUAL. To the genus Bahnwptcra belong the Rorquals or Fin-whales, the first species of which is the COMMON RORQUAL, Balceiioptcra viusailiis (Linn.), the BalcEiioptcra boops of Bell's first edition, and PJiysalits antiquontm of Gray. This is a much more active animal than the Right-whale ; it is difficult ®f approach, and, upon being harpooned, such is the velocity with which it shoots through the water that the danger is very great; Scoresby mentions one which took out 4S0 fathoms of line in about one minute. In addition to this, the whalebone is short and of little value, and the yield of oil small ; it 'Bum;LTkningcr til Norycs Pattijdyrfauna," p. loo. (SKiskilt Afiyk af ' Nyt Mag. for Naturvsk ") 1S76. ill' 1 1 .iii'i ' ' 7 "■*' o o O bo ill" vm' SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. 73 is therefore avoided by the whalers, as more dangerous than profitable, and if struck at all, it is most likely a case of mistaken identity. From the port of Vadso, however, the capture of this, and the species immediately preceding and following, is now successfully effected by means of an explosive shell or harpoon, which kills them at once. This fishery was established about the year 1865, by Herr Svend Foyn, from Tonsberg, and is still MQ.ry success- fully prosecuted, as many as 50 Whales being obtained each summer ; they are towed into Vadso, where the blubber is refined and the carcase made into manure. The habitat of the Common Rorqual is the temperate Northern seas, from the Mediterranean, which it sometimes enters, to the 70° north latitude, and sometimes even farther north still. Nordenskibld, in the ' CEolus,' last saw Finners on the iSth May, 1S61, in lat. 75^45', the temperature of the water being between 2'50'' and 3'8^ C, and they were not again seen until the return of the expedition in September, in "j^P north latitude, the temperature of the water being then about 3'S^' C. He remarks, "It is probable that ' Finners ' never live in colder water than this, and that the northern limit of their distribution coincides with sea of this temperature. It has to be kept in view, however, that this boundary line lies several degrees further to the north in summer than in winter."* The range of this group is very great, and, according to Andrew Murray, it would appear that one or more of the Bala;nopterid£e is found over the whole world, although it is by no means certain that any particular species has a very wide geographical range. Megaptera loiigimana, which occurs in the North Sea, was also supposed to have been met with at the Cape, but Dr. Gray has pointed out differences in the cervical vertebrae of an individual from that locality, which he considers constitute distinct specific characters ; on the * 'Arctic Voyages of Aclulf Erik Nordenskiold,' 1S5S-1S79, pp. 51-2. I 74 SEALS AND WHALES OF TELE BRLTLSLL SEAS. other hand, a Fiii-whalc from Java so closely resembles our Balmnoptera laticcps that Professor Flower, after the most careful examination and com- parison almost bone by bone, hesitates to pronounce it distinct, and only separates it provisionally. In our own seas this species is of frequent occurrence, more especiallj' on the Scotch coast, where it appears in the early autumn, attracted by the shoals of herring which abound there at that season. In feeding-, the Rorquals are not so restricted to minute marine animals as the Right-Whale, but devour large quantities of fish of various sizes, from herrings up to cod. In the stomach of the Newcastle Humpbacked-Whale (the species mentioned immediately before tlie present one) were found six cormorants, but a seventh, found in its throat, was supposed to have cau.sed its death by choking it. The blowing is accompanied by a loud noise, which, on a still night, may be heard at a considerable distance. It was formerly supposed that in " blowing" the Whale ejected from its nostrils a very con- siderable quantity of water, which might be seen to spout up into the air like a fountain ; and in the performance of this remarkable feat they were generally depicted. Beale, however, in his ' Natural History of the Sperm Whale,' as early as 183S, showed that this is not the case, and the truth of his observations is now generally acknowledged. The power so to eject water taken into its capacious mouth is, of course, impossible, the blow-hole beino- in direct communication with the lungs, and not with the cavity of the mouth, nor would it be of any service to the Whalebone-Whales, as the very purpose of the baleen is to form, a screening apparatus through which the water is ejected, leaving its minute prey behind ; and in the toothed Whales it would not be required. What appears like a jet of water is, in realit)-, dense vapour— in fact, the breath issuing from the lungs of the animal, highly charged with moisture, which becomes condensed upon exposure to the atmosphere. It often happens, too, that the Whale lets off the imprisoned air just before the blow-hole reaches the surface of the water, or that a wave passes over it at SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. 75 the moment of respiration, the water is thus dashed aside by the blast, and, probably, some of it really carried up into the air, thus heightening the deceptive effect. This species, when adult, reaches the length of about 70 feet, the upper part is black, the throat and belly white and plaited, the flippers black. The baleen is short and slate colour, veined with streaks of darker shade, but growing lighter towards the inner edge. Dead Whales, when stranded on the shore, after floating long at sea, are generally greatly distended with gas, which generates rapidly in the tissues after decomposition has set in ; in such an inflated condition only a very imperfect conception can be formed of the true proportions of the vast beast. There is frequently, also, a great protrusion of membrane from the mouth, arising from the same cause, and other appearances in the male animal, clue to the pressure of gas in the abdominal cavity are generally faithfully por- trayed in old books of Natural History. A Whale of this species, taken off the North coast of Scotland, in April, 1880, was purchased by an enterprising individual in Birmingham, to which town it was conveyed by rail, and there exhibited : probably, this was the greatest distance from the sea at which an entire Cetacean, 63 feet in length, had ever been seen. The figure of this species is copied, by kind permission of Professor l^"lower, from the illustration to his paper in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London ' for 1 869, p. 604, ct. scq. SICEALD S RORQUAL. ■ ' •- Sibbald's Rorqual (BalcBnoptcra sibbaldH, J. E. Gray ; also Sibbaldms borealis, Gray, and Physalis latirostris, Flower), has several times been met with 76 SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRLTLSLL SEAS. in British waters, particularly on the east coast of Scotland. It is the largest of this gigantic famil)', measuring from So to perhaps lOO feet in length. One seen by Hcrr Fo)'n he estimated at the enormous length of 133 English feet ! The famous " Ostend Whale," which was found floating dead in the North Sea, in 1S27, and taken into Ostend, belonged to this species; its skeleton was long exhibited in this country, and afterwards in America. Dr. Gray says it is now in St. Petersburg, and gives the total length as 102 feet ; as however, several of the vertebrae are missing, the exact length is uncertain. Professor Turner gives the length of a specimen stranded in the Firth of Forth as "jZ feet 9 inches, and the girth behind the flippers about 45 feet : this animal was gravid, but notwithstanding this fact, the bulk must have been enormous. Herr Rt. Collett, in his ' Norges Pattedyrfauna,' gives a very full account of this species, as observed by him on the Norwegian coast. In June, 1874, he liad the opportunity of visiting Herr Svend Foyn's establishment for whale- catching, at Vadso, and in addition to being enabled to examine three individuals of this species in a fresh state, received much information as to their habits from Herr Fo)'n and the men engaged in the fishery. This Whale, from its colour, is known by the fishers as the " Blue Whale," and appears to have its home in winter in the open seas, between the North Cape and Spitsbergen. By the end of April or beginning of May it approaches the coast, entering the larger Fjords towards the end of the latter month, to feast upon the enormous quantities of Tliysaiiopoda incnnis, then found there ; it is also seen in summer along the coast from Loftbden to the North Cape, and further to the eastward. When the wind is on the land or in any stormy weather, it seeks the open sea, Varanger Fjord is the favourite hunting-ground for this species, and in the last few years the average number taken there has been thirty; in 1874, as many as 42 were taken: it leaves the Fjord, however, should stormy weather set in. No specimen examined SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRITISH SEAS. 77 by Herr CoUett, or Professor Sars, had taken any other food than Thysanopoda iiiermis, and Herr Foyn and his catchers arc all of opinion that they do not eat fish. To obtain the little Crustacean on which they feed and which is found congregated in separate masses, the Whale passes backwards and forwards with its mouth open, till the cavity is well filled, it then closes its capacious jaws upon the contents. Herr Collett found two or three barrels of these small crustaceans in the stomach of a Blue Whale which he examined, and was told that a large one would consume as much as ten barrels. The female appears, as a rule, to be longer than the male; tlie young are born about the autumn, one appears to be the usual number, but two yonng ones have more than once been seen with the same old female. This species may be known by its low dorsal fin, black baleen, and long flippers, which are black above and whitish below : this should be borne in mind, as it is not at all improbable that some, at least, of the enormous cetaceans which are occasionally reported from the North of Scotland, belong to this species ; so very unsatisfactory, however, are the reports which appear in print, that it is rarely a single feature is mentioned by which the species may be determined. RUDOLPHI S RORQUAL. RUDOLPHl's Rorqual {Balccnoptera latkeps, J. E. Gray) is a small species which may readily be mistaken for the Lesser Rorqual. A Whale stranded at Charmouth in February, 1840, and described by Mr. Yarrell, under the name of Balcenoptera hoops, in the proceedings of the Zoological Society for that year, is believed to have been of this species, but the skeleton, although prepared at the time, is supposed to have been sold and 78 SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRLTLSLL SEAS. converted into manure. The same individual is recorded under the name of B. tcuuirostris, in the Mag. of Nat. History, iv., 1S40, p. 342, by Mr. R. H. Sweeting-. Ver}' Httle is known about the history or distribution of this species ; the flippers are entirely black above, wanting the white band found in the next species, and the baleen is believed to be black. LE,SSER RORQUAL. The next and last of the Whalebone-Whales which we know to have occurred in the British Seas is the LES.SER RORQUAL {Balanoptera rostrata, Fab.; Rorqnahis minor, Knox), (Fig. 15). Many individuals of this species have been obtained on various parts of the coast, from Cornwall to the North of Scotland. On the coast of Norway it is frequently met with, and is there called the " Bay-Whale," from its habit of entering bays and estuaries ; this habit the natives talvc advantage of for its destruction. Stretching a strong net across the inlet, they cut off its escape, and put a cruel and often protracted end to its existence with harpoons and arrows, the poor Whale sometimes lingering from eight to fourteen days. This species is also known as the " Sunimer- Whale," and does not appear to be so strictly a northern species as the Balasnopteridae generally are : it is believed, like the Common Rorqual, to have been taken in the Mediterranean. A Whale of this species, taken at Mevagissey, in Cornwall, at the end of April, 18S0, was conveyed to London, and there exhibited in the Old Kent Road. The Lesser Rorqual, from its small size (not exceeding 30 feet), is not liable to be mistaken for any other species except the preceding (Rudolphi's Rorqual), and from tliat it may be distinguished Ijy the broad white band across its black flipper ; the baleen also is nearly white, which is another good i I *IJ\ o Pi SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSIL SEAS. 8i distinction. The figure of this species is copied from the illustration to an article by Messrs. Carte and Macalister, on the Anatomy of Balaiioptcra rostrata, in the 'Philosophical Transactions' of the Royal Society for iS6S, vol. clviii. In the table on the next page I have endeavoured to give the most striking external peculiarities of our British Mystacoccti. They are easily re- membered, and will be useful in identifying specimens, should no authority be at hand. The table also indicates the external points to be observed by a person not acquainted with this class. of animals, and is most serviceable to enable others to identify doubtful specimens. o -s OJ o f — O o O \C) ,^ ■rj- CO V- ^ S^ '~ '^~' "3 o o S O OJ t o ^^ o ci ■^ c; ^ '-^ ^J o O ^ <: /2 < o CO o CO J-.' 44 o |x.2 ^ rid ri-. ri2 z" o o o s Slate lour shad hghte i n n e edge ^2 S U ci ^ ■ - 5 t3 •" n :- OJ w _^- C :> ^ OJ ^ J_, j__. ^ _^_, ^_, ^ ;^ . "^ "^ CJ i-, ^ u 1-1 bo P S "" d > ° rt O o o o o o 1=: u bo ^ o ij ^ J3 .J^ ^ oS2j CO CO CO c/:) O) J CO > 4_, s OJ o 5 _o tJ3 5 'ill o o >» n-. C z "A > C/1 i5 u > K s s Wholly white, out 1 2 ft. long d notched at 5 edge s Dark above. White beneath, 1 2 feet or more long a c k , with road band qf hite across PQ-^ ' 3 . j::; ^ -a —^ t3 TS T3 ts CJ ti (D OJ OJ o " p o o o o ct -^ rt oJ _rt _rt E.S c "' r^ cJ5 CO Oh Ph E K OJ X 3 t OJ OJ 2 1:3 D^ H ^ B^ S '^ s ^ CO S'^ ^ ^ Q J p O o ■ -^ >^ ^ -^ -M 4^ -i< J4 ^ r .^ C O (J u u u u r:: rt rt ci rt rt cJ ^ "^ Q ^0 53 3 S s S s OJ rTi 2 S 5 "^ i-a i1 5" ^ >- ■S> ^S- ■^ ? ^■j K-' s; )- -c -^ ~ o ? CT- wi i Ty; ^'"i 5! o :^ ~ O UO ^ '••' S '^ .'■^ to 1^ 6 ^1 SB Fu O 1^ s; o •^ to SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 85 ODONTOCETI (TOOTHED WHALES). PHYSETERIDAI. The second sub-order into which tlie Cetacea are divided, is the Odontoccti, or Toothed Wliales. In this section, baleen is never present, but well-developed teeth are found in one or both jaws of the adult; in some species they are very numerous ; sometimes, though rarely, deciduous. The blow-hole is single, and the skull generally asymmetrical, or not precisely alike on both sides of the medial line. Professor Flower divides the Odontoccti into three families, one of which, the I'latanistida:, as already said, is found only in India and South America : the other two, Pliysetciida; and DclpliinidcB, arc represented in our Fauna by about fifteen species. Of the Pliysctcrida:, four genera are represented in the British fauna by four or five species ; namely, one Physctcr, the Sperm Whale ; two Hyperoodons, the common Beaked Whale, and a doubtful species called the Broad-fronted Beaked Whale ; one Ziphiiis, Cuvier's Whale ; and one Mesoplodon, Sowerby's Whale. SPERI\I WHALE, OR CACIIELOT. By far the most conspicuous species of this interesting group is the SperM Whale, Physctcr inacroccpliahis (Linnaeus), A\hich rivals the Right-Whale in commercial importance, and in the value of its products. This species has a K 86 SEALS AND WHALES OE THE BRLTLSLI SEAS. very wide geograpliical range, having been found in almost every sea between lat. 60^ nortli and 60' soutli. Tlie attempt has beeii made, I thinlc unsuccess- full}', to sliow tliat tlie Sperm Whale of the Soutliern Hemisphere is distinct from that of tlie northern ; there seems, however, no reason, at present, to doubt, althougli, of course, it ma}' eventually be found otherwise, that the same species of Sperm Whale ranges over the whole of this vast tract of ocean. North of about 40'- it appears to be onl}-- a straggler, and although the Arctic seas are almost alwa)-s stated by authors to be its head-quarters, very few well-authenticated instances of its occurrence farther north than Scotland are on record ; Lilljcborg excludes it from his account of the Scandinavian cetacea, but Herr Collett sa)-s that within the last 100 years, at least two individuals of this species ha\-e been stranded on the Norwegian coast, and that Professor Sars, during a stay in L.offoden, received information which convinced him that one was seen there in the summer of 1865. From the middle of the sixteenth to the middle of the seventeenth century, the stranding of individuals of this species on the coast of Great Britain, and, indeed, of other countries in Europe from the Netherlands to the Mediter- ranean, was by no means a rare occurrence ; these were generally solitary males, but occasionally small "schools" were met ^\ith, as in July, 1577, in the Scheldt, where three were taken ; also, at Hunstanton, in Norfolk, in 1646, mentioned below. Of its occurrence on the British coast there are numerous instances ; in all cases, however, they are belie\-ed by Andrew Murray to have been stragglers, " which have rounded Cape Horn (they have never been known to double the Cape of Good Hope) or unpromising colonics, for they are becoming scarcer and scarcer in more than their due proportion."* Eight or ten individuals of this species have occiuTed on the coast of Scotland between the years 1689 and 1871 (Alston, ' Fauna of Scot.', p. 18). 'Ceograpliical iJi.slrHjii ion of Jianimalia,' by Andrew Murray, iS66, p. 211. SEALS AND WHALES OF TILE BRLTLSLL SEAS. 87 In the church of St. Nicholas, at Great Yarmouth, is the basal portion of a skull of this animal, which has been converted into a chair : it formerly stood outside the church, and of course, as it was an object of wonder, it was relegated to the powers of darkness, and christened (?) the " Devil's Seat ; " it has, however, now been admitted into mother church, and stands beside the north-west door under the clock. In the churchwardens' accounts for 1606 there is a charge of 8s. for painting this chair, which clearly proves its antiquity. In a letter to Sir Thomas Browne (Wilkins' edit., 1852, editor's preface to " Pseudodoxia," vol, i. p. Ixxxi.), Sir Hamon L'Estrange writes ■=^-^"^ '""k Fig. 17. Chair in Great Yarmoutli Churcli, formed from the basal portion of the skull of the Sperm Whale. I'"!''. iS. Back view of the same. that in June, 1626, a Whale, afterwards referred to by Sir T. Browne as a Sperm Whale (vol. iii. p. 324), was cast upon liis shore or sea-libei-ty, " some- tyme parcel of the possessions of the Abbey of Ramsey, &c." The same author, in his account of the " Fishes found in Norfolk and on the Coast," says, "A Spermaceti Whale of 62 feet long [came on shore] near Wells, another of the same kind twenty years before at Hunstanton [the one referred to by Sir H. L'Estrange] ; and not far off, eight or nine came ashore, and two had j'oung ones after they were forsaken by the water." The Whale mentioned by Sir 11. L'Estrange came on shore in 1626; twenty years after 88 SEJZS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. would give 1646 as the date of the Wells specimen; and in December of that year, according- to Booth's "History of Norfolk," published in 1781 (vol. ix. p. 33), "A great Whale was cast on the shore here [at Holme-next-the-Sea], the wind blowing strongly at the north-west, 57 feet long, the breadth of the nose-end eight feet, from nose-end to the eye 15 1 feet ; the eyes about the same bigness as those of an ox, the lower chap closed and shut about four feet short of the upper ; this lower chap narrow towards the end, and therein were 46 teeth like the tusks of an elephant; the upper one had no teeth, but sockets of bones to receive the teeth: two small fins only, one on each side, Fig. 19. Skeleton of the Sperm Whale (after Flower), s, Spermaceti Cavity ; n, Nasal Passage, in dotted line ; b. Blow-hole. and a short small fin on the back ; it was a male . . . . ; the breadth of the tail, from one outward tip to the other, was 13I feet. The profit made of it was £21] 63. 7d,, and the charge in cutting it up and managing it came to ;^ioo or more." It seems probable that a " school" got bewildered in the shallow waters of the Wash, and that the individual of which Booth gives such an excellent description, formed one of the same party as the eight or nine mentioned by Sir T. Browne. In May, 1652, Mr. Arthur Bacon writes to SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 89 Sir T. Browne about the Sperm Whale cast on shore at Yarmouth, but the actual date of the occurrence is not given. Since these ancient records, many- others have occurred at intervals, singly or in small parties, on various parts of the coast; the last instance, I believe, being in July, 1S71, when one was stranded on the shore of the Isle of Skye. Of the osteology of the Sperm Whale, Professor Flower has given an exhaustive description in a paper published in the ' Transactions ' of the Zoological Society, vol. vi., and of its habits a very interesting account is given by Thomas Beale, who, in the capacity of surgeon on board ships employed in the South Sea fishery, had unusual opportunities of observing this remarkable animal. He published a book entitled ' The Natural History of the Sperm Whale,' to which I am largely indebted for what I shall have to say about this species. The colour of the Sperm Whale is black above and grey beneath, the colours gradually shading into each other. The full-grown male is about sixty feet long ; the females are much smaller and more slender than the males. The head, which constitutes more than one-third of the whole of the animal, presents a very remarkable appearance, the truncated form of the snout looking as though it were cut off at right-angles to the body : at the upper angle is situated the single blow-hole. The juncture of the head with the body is the thickest portion, and the body decreases little in size till the " hump," which is situated in the place of the dorsal fin, is reached ; from this point it rapidly diminishes to the tail. The flukes of the tail are from twelve to fourteen feet in breadth, and the two flippers each about six feet long. The under jaw is pointed, and about two feet shorter than the upper; it is furnished with about twenty-five large conical teeth on each side ; but the number is not constant, nor is it always the same on each side. In the upper jaw are no visible teeth, but those of the lower jaw shut into corresponding depressions in the upper. The tongue is small, and, like the lining of the 9° SEALS AND IVHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. mouth, of a white colour. The upper part of the head, called the " case," contains the " spermaceti," which upon the death of the animal granulates into a yellowish substance. Beale says that a large Whale not unfrequently contains a ton of spermaceti. Beneath the "case" is situated the "junk," which consists of a dense cellular mass, containing oil and spermaceti. The blubber is about fourteen inches thick on the breast, and in most other parts of the body from eight to eleven inches. By the whalers this covering is called the " blanket." With regard to the apparently ungainly head of the Sperm Whale, Beale remarks as follows : — ■" One of the peculiarities of the Fir;. 20. Skull of yi'KjtH Wilale. Sperm Whale, which strikes at first sight every beholder, is the apparently disproportionate and unwieldy bulk of the head ; but this peculiarit}^ instead of being, as might be supposed, an impediment to the freedom of the animal's motion in its native element, is, in fact, on the contrary, in some respects, very conducive to its lightness and agility, if such a term can with propriety be applied to such an enormous creature ; for a great part of the bulk of the head is made up of a thin membranous case, contaming, during life, a tliin oil, of much less specific gravity than water, below which is again the junk, which, although heavier than the spermaceti, is still lighter than the element SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTISLL SEAS. 91 in which the Whale moves ; consequently, the head, taken as a whole, is lighter specifically than any other part of the body, and will always have a tendency to rise at least so far above the surface as to elevate the nostril or "blow-hole" sufficiently for all purposes of respiration; and more than this, a very slight effort on the part of the fish would only be necessary to raise the whole of the anterior flat surface of the nose out of the water. In case the animal should wish to increase his speed to the utmost, the narrow inferior surface, which has been before stated to bear some resemblance to the cut- water of a ship, and which would, in fact, answer the same purpose to the Whale, would be the only part exposed to the pressure of the water in front, enabling him thus to pass with the greatest celerity and ease through the boundless track of his wide domain."* When swimming at ease, the Sperm Whale keeps just below the surface of the water, and goes at about three or four miles an hour ; but on an emergency it is able to attain a speed of ten or twelve miles an hour : it then progresses by means of powerful lateral strokes of its tail, and alternately rises and sinks at each stroke. In progressing in this manner, the blunt anterior surface of the head never presents itself directly to the water ; the animal's bod}' being in an oblique position, it is only the angle formed by the inferior surface which first presents itself, and this, which Beale likens to the " cutwater" of a ship, oft'ers the least possible amount of resistance. When undisturbed, the Sperm Whale rises to the surface to breathe about once every hour. Beale says the regularity with which every action connected with its breathing is performed is remarkable ; the time occu- pied differs slightly in each individual, but each one is minutely regular in the performance of every action connected with respiration, so that the whalers know how long it will remain beneath the surface before re- appearing to renew its supplj^ of air. A full-grown "bull," he saj's, remains * 'Natural History of the Sperm Whale,' p. 2$. 92 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. at the surface ten or eleven minutes, during which he makes sixty or seventy expirations ; after which he disappears, to return again to the surface in one hour and ten minutes. The blowing is not accompanied by any sound, and notwithstanding the wonderful accounts of its roarings and bellowings, the Sperm Whale may be said to be an absolutely silent animal. The females and young males are gregarious, but are found in separate herds or "schools," as they are called. A "school"' will sometimes consist of five or six hundred individuals. The herds of females are always accompanied by from one to three large "bulls; " but the full-grown males are said to be generally solitary in their habits, except on certain occasions, when it is supposed they are migrating from one feeding-place to another. The majority of those which occur on our coast are these solitary males; when they visit us in herds, as mentioned by Sir Thomas Browne, they are all probably females or young males. The "bulls" are very fierce and jealous, and fight fiercely. The females show great attachment to each other and to their young, so much so that, one being wounded, the others of the herd remain and fall a compara- tively easy prey. The young males, on the other hand, are very wary and difficult of approach, and should one be attacked, the others immediately take the alarm and retreat. The female produces one young one, rarely two, at a time, and breeds at all seasons of the year. Their senses of sight and hearing are very acute, and after being once unsuccessfully attacked, they are very difficult and dangerous to approach. The food of the Sperm Whale consists almost entirely of Cephalopode MoUusks (cuttle-fish), although at times, when feeding near the shore, it has been known to take fish as large as salmon. How it contrives to capture such active prey as fish seems difficult to conceive. Beale is of opinion that the Whale sinks to a proper depth in the sea, where remaining as quiet as possible, and opening wide its mouth, the prey are attracted by the glisteninf^ white colour of its lining membrane, curiosity leading them to destruction ■ SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. 93 for no sooner have a sufficient number entered his mouth than the Whale rapidly closes his under jaw, and they are made prisoners, and swallowed. The pursuit of the Sperm Whale is attended with much greater danger than that of the Greenland Whale, and Beale gives many instances in which, in his own experience, boats were stove in and men lost ; stories of fighting Whales, he says, are numerous, and probably much exaggerated ; one, known as "Timor Jack," is said to have destroyed ever)' boat sent against him, till at last he was killed by approaching him from several directions at the same time, his attention thus being diverted from the boat which made the successful attack. Another fish, known as " New Zealand Tom," destroyed nine boats successively before breakfast, and when eventually captured, after destroyin"- many other boats, many harpoons from the various ships which had attacked him were found sticking in his body. There is one well-authenticated instance of a vessel being attacked and destroyed by a Sperm Whale : the American whale-ship Essex was attacked by one, which, first passing under the vessel, probably by accident, came in contact with her keel and carried it away : then turning and rushing furiously upon the ship, the Whale stove in her bow ; so serious was the breach that the vessel speedily filled and went down. Most of the crew were away in their boats at the time, but those on board had just time to launch their one remaining boat before the vessel sank. The boats made for the coast of Peru, the nearest land, many hundreds of miles distant ; one of them was picked up drifting at sea, and three of the crew, who were found in it in a state of insensibility, were the only survivors of the ill-fated vessel. In addition to the sperm and oil, this species yields another product which is, or was, very valuable, although it is the result of disease, and one would imagine a very uninviting substance — I refer to Ambergris, \.\\t origin and composition of which was so long a puzzle to the learned. This substance is now well known to be a concretion of the indigestible portions of the Ciittle- L 94 S£ALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. fish, which form the food of the Sperm Whale. The nucleus of the mass is generally the horn)? beaks of these creatures, and the substance itself is found in the intestines of the Sperm Whale, or on the shores of the seas frequented by this species; no other Whale is known to be subject to these bezoars. It was formerl)- believed that the origin of ambergris was in some way connected with the sea, and when it was afterwards found in Whales, the fact was simply attributed to their having swallowed it. Sir Thomas Browne writes of the Sperm Whale which came on shore at Wells, in 1646;— "In vain was it to rake for ambergriese in the paunch of this Icviatlian, as Greenland discoverers and attests of experience dictate that they sometimes swallow great lumps thereof in the sea ; insufferable fcetor denying that inquiry ; and yet if as Paracelsus encourageth, ordure makes the best musk, and from the most fcetid substances may be drawn the most odoriferous essences ; all that had not Vespasian's nose i^Cui odor hicri ex re qnalibel) might boldly swear here was a subject fit for such extractions" (vol, i., p. 356). It was not imtil 1783, in a paper read before the Royal Society by Dr. Swcdiaur, that a scientific account of the origin of ambergris was made known. At the present time its medical virtues, whicli were formerly considered veiy great, are altogether at a discount, and the onl)' use to which it is applied is in the preparation of perfumer)'. The South Sea whale-fishery was long prosecuted b)' the Americans before the British ships took part in it, from 1771 to 1775 Massachusetts is said by McCulloch to lia\-e had 121 vessels in this trade; about the beginning of the American war, howe\'er, the English also sent out ships, and in 1791 had 75 vessels engaged in the South Seas. The number of British ships, as with those employed in the northern fisheries, varied considerably, influenced probably by the varying amounts of bounty offered by the Government, but never exceeded 75 ; in 1S15 they hai,! fallen ofi' to 22; in 1820 they again rose to 68, from which the)- gradually fell to 31 in 1829, all of which sailed from SE^-ILS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS 95 the port of London. Beale sailed from London, in 1S31, in the "Kent," returning in the " Sarah and Elizabeth," both of which vessels belonged to Thomas Sturge. The duration of the voyage was from two to four or even five years, the average of 199 voyages being three years and three months, and the yield of oil, 169 tons per voyage. At the present time no British vessels are engaged in the South Sea trade, which has again reverted to the Americans. I have said very little about the method of pursuit and capture of this species, and of the Right-Whale, because it is a subject in which I take no pleasure ; those who wish to know how these peaceful and highly-organised giants are approached, and how they behave when terrified and smarting under the harpoon and whale-lance, can pursue the subject ad naitseani in the pages of Scoresby, Beale, and others; the sickening process of "flensing" and disposing of the blubber is described with equal minuteness. The halo of romance with which some authors seek to surround the whale-fishery, is, doubtless, in a great measure due to the solitary and distant fields of operation, whether it be in the frozen regions of the north, or the vast and trackless oceans of the south, but its stern reality is prosaic enough. The occupation is one of hardship and danger, but the remuneration when success- ful is large in proportion, and I can hardly conceive, under any circumstances, of men inflicting the fearful amount of suffering which every "full" whale- ,ship, or in a still greater degree every "full" sealer, represents. Science is constantl)' adding to our resources, and it is sincerely to be hoped that ere Ion"" substitutes may be found for animal oil and whalebone which will supersede their use in the few processes in which they are still requisite : should this be long delayed, it is to be feared that the Seals and Whales, at least of the northern seas, will soon cease to exist. In the meantime, it is gratifying to find that it is from the sealers and whalers themselves that the demand for the better regulation of the trade has emanated, and the name of 96 SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRLTLSH SEAS. Captain David Gray, of Peterhead, stands prominent amongst those who have urged upon the governments of this and otlier countries concerned, such regulations as shall insure greater humanity in its prosecution, and prevent the wasteful destruction which, if continued, must speedily ruin a valuable source of commercial enterprise. Although so widely spread over the waters of the globe, possessing, I believe, a range greater than any other known mammal, it is only open and deep waters which can be said to be the home of the Sperm Whale ; when found in shallow seas, its generally emaciated condition indicates the absence of its proper nourishment; and the readiness with which whole herds precipitate themselves stupidly upon the sands, shows how little they are acquainted with such objects. Mr. Andrew Murray makes some obser- vations upon this subject, which are so interesting and so suggestive that I cannot resist making a long quotation. Speaking of those specimens which have now and then been cast ashore in the North Atlantic or in the English seas, he says : " They seem to be unprepared for, or not adapted for, shallow seas. Accustomed (perhaps not individually, but by hereditary practice or instinct) to swim along the coral islands of the Pacific within a stone's throw from the shore, they cannot understand, their instinct is not prepared to meet, shallow coasts and pro- jecting headlands. If they were habitual residents in our seas, they must either be speedily extirpated, learn more caution, or be developed into a new species." .... Mr. Murray further says: "I observe that almost every place that has been above mentioned as a favourite resort of the Sperm Whales, although not out of soundings, has claims to be considered the site of sub- merged land. The islands in the Polynesia, which are its special feeding- ground, are the beacons left by the submerged Pacific continent. In pure deep seas animal life is usually scarce, and the absence of breeding-ground is probably the chief cause of it ; but this only applies to a certain kind of SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 97 animals, those which require a bottom on which to deposit their spawn ; but there are many which do not require this. The spawn of some floats about unattached ; for otliers a frond of weed is sufficient attaclinient ; and it has occurred to me that tlie distribution of the Sperm Whale may in some way be connected with the geological antecedents of the ocean it inhabits. I think it not improbable that the site of a submerged land m ly swarm with life, which originally proceeded, or was dependent on it, long after it had been in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. The Sargasso seas, which swarm with Eolidce and Crustacea, are examples of this life ; it is not invariably either present or absent in deep water, and it is its presence or its absence which is instructive. Those animals which required a bottom to spawn upon may have died out or been developed into others which do not ; and those which do not require such a support may have multiplied correspondingly. In one of the maps in Lieutenant Maury's book, already cited, there is a space of sea opposite the western coast of South America, and lying between Patagonia and New Zealand, marked ' Desolate region, distinguished by the absence of animal or vegetable life ' ; — no Sperm Whales here — nothing for them to feed upon — and no symptoms, either by banks of Sargasso or coral islets, of any land ever having existed there. There is no apparent reason why this place, except from some special cause peculiar to itself, should be more desolate than any other in the same latitude — than the deep sea on the east side of Patagonia, for example. I can imagine that, if the bottom of the sea should subside gradually, where animal life had once abounded, animal life — not that animal life, but animal life due in some way to it — might continue to linger over it long after it had passed bej'ond the depth at which it could practically have any effect upon the animal life above it ; but if a part of the circumference of the globe has always been under water, before and ever since the creation of life, no life is likely to be found on that spot, because it has never had a starting-point of life from v/hich to begin ; and, 98 SEALS AND U'lTALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. as already said, a slender barrier stops the spread of species, and species would certainly not spread to a spot where there was nothing for them to feed upon. Again, animal life coidd not begin to feed upon animal life till vegetable life had previously prepared the way, by providing food for the animals which were to furnish food for others ; and vegetable life could not begin to grow without a foundation of land, accessible either above or below water. The total and constant absence ot all life at any particular spot appears to me, therefore, to furn.ish a presumption that there has never been dry land or shallow water there. Whether the continuance of deep water in one spot for some interminably long time might not have the same effect is another question, which, whatever wa)' it may be answered, vv'ould not affect my explanation of the cause of the absence of the Sperm Whale from such spots."* The woodcuts (figs. 17 and 18), representing the chair in Yarmouth Church, which is formed of part of the skull of an individual of this species, are from the ' Purlestrations of Great Yarmouth,' by Mr. C. J. Palmer. THE ZirniOID WHALES. The sub family Zipliiina:, which follows ne.xt, is, perhaps, the most re- markable of the whole of this interesting order. The Zipliioid W^iales, as they are designated, arc, for the most part, very rare, and until the com- mencement of the present ccntur)', with one exception, were known to science only from their numerous remains, found chiefly in the Crag deposits. Even so recently as 1S71, Professor Flower, in a memoir of this groupf speal;s of their occurrence at irregular intervals, and at various and most * 'Geographical Uislribulion of Mammalia,' pp. 211-ij. f 'Transactions' of the Zoological Society, viii., p. 20J. SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRITLSH SEAS. 99 distant parts of the world, to the number of about 30 individuals, in all cases solitary, and that their habits were almost absolutely unknown. Since that time, however, very considerable additions have been made to our knowledge of the group, and Professor Flower, in a second contri- bution on the same subject* made in 1877, states that "instead of being so rare as was then supposed, since the attention of naturalists resident in our colonies has been directed to the importance of losing no opportunity of securing such specimens as accidents of wind and waves may cast upon their shores, it has been proved that in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere these Whales exist in considerable numbers, both as species and as indi- viduals, and that one species, at least \_Mcsoplodon grayi\ is gregarious, having been met with in two instances in 'schools' of considerable num- bers." " The geographical distribution of the group," adds Professor Flovverf "has a very great interest in relation to that of many other Australian groups, both of vertebrates and invertebrates. Among the earliest known remains of Cetacea, in the Belgian and Suffolk Crags, Mcsoplodon and closely- allied forms are most abundant. Up to a little more tlian ten j'ears ago, the few stray individuals of Alcsoplodoii bideiis occasionally stranded on the shores of North Europe, were supposed to be their sole survivors. Since that time it has been proved that they are still numerous in species, and even in individuals in the seas which surround the Australian continent, extending from the Cape of Good Hope on the one side, to New Zealand on the other, though beyond these limits no specimens have yet been met with. It is the history of the Marsupial Mammals, of Ceratodus, of Terebratiila, and of numerous other forms." The group is divided into four genera — Hypcroodon, Bcrardius, Ziphhis, and Mesoplodon (the second of which is not represented in our Fauna). Its * lout. .\. , p, 415. + Ibid., p. 435. SEALS AND IIIIALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. members were formerly distinguished by the absence of functional teeth in the upper jaw, but, recently, a row of small teeth, of determinate number and definite form, has been discovered in many individuals of a species of Mcsop- lodoti. The teeth in the lower jaw are always quite rudimentary, with the exception of one, or occasionally, two pairs. These may be largely developed, especially in the male sex, and are placed, generally, well forward. " They have a small and pointed enamel-covered crown, composed of true dentine, which, instead of surmounting a root of the ordinary character, is raised upon a solid mass of osteo-dentine, the continuous growth of which greatly alters the form and general appearance of the organ as age advances." In Mcsop- lodoii layardi this little dentine cap is not larger than the portion of the tooth ordinarily shown above the gum, but the fang-like growth is so great that the tips of the " tusks" meet over the upper jaw, so that the animal is only able to open its mouth for a very short distance indeed. The form assumed in Mesoplodon bidcns will be seen in the figure of the head of that species, at p. 104. The blow-hole is sub-crescentic, and a pair of remarkable furrows occurs in the skin of the throat, almost in the form of the letter V, the point directed forward. The skull presents a remarkable appearance in the genus Hyperoodon, caused by the enormous maxillary crests which produce the peculiar conformation of the head in the living animal, originating the trivial name " Bottle-head." The food of the whole group is said to consist mainly of Loligo, commonly called " Squid," and other Cephalopods which frequent the open sea. One very singular circumstance with regard to these creatures is that they never seem to be taken at sea, but, whenever procured, it is by their running themselves on shore. This, as before remarked with re"-ard to the Sperm Whale, would seem to indicate that their natural habitat is the deep waters of the open seas, where shallows are unknown. The sand- banks which surround a sloping shore, of which they have had no experience speedily prove fatal to them. SEALS AND WHALES OE THE BRITISH SEAS. BEAKED WHALE. The common Beaked Whale, or Bottle-head {Hyperoodon rostratum, Chemnitz ; Hyperoodoyi biitzkopf, Lacepede), is of frequent occurrence in the North Atlantic, and generally visits our shores in autumn, sometimes ascend- ing the estuaries of rivers : it has been taken several times at the entrance to the river Ouse. It is solitary in its habits, more than two being never met with in the same place, and in that case it is often the old female and her young one : the old male is said to be very shy and rarely secured. In September, 1877, an adult female, 24 ft. long, was taken in the Menai Straits ; it was accompanied by another, probably its young one. Capt. Feilden met with what he believes to have been this species, just within the Arctic Circle ; " each emission of breath was accompanied by a stentorian grunt, which closely resembled that of an elephant."* The colour is black above, the under parts being lighter : the two teeth in the lower jaw are generally hidden in the gum. Its food consists of cuttle- fish, the remains of great numbers of which have been found in its stomach. .. broad-fronted beaked whale. Another species of Hyperoodon, for which the name H. latifrons has been proposed, is by some supposed to exist. Scarcely anything is known about it as a species. " The principal distinctive characters of the skull lie in the great raised crests of the maxillary bones, which are very much thickened Zoologist, 1S7S, p. 319. M I02 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. and flattened above, so as almost to touch one another, whereas, in H. rostraiiiin, they are rather sharp-edged above, and separated by a considerable interval. In H. latifroiis, these crests rise absolutely higher than the occipital region of the skull, which is not the case in the common species."* Individuals possessing these peculiarities have been taken three or four times on the British coast, and on one occasion, in Greenland. Another was stranded in 1873, at Hasvig, near Hammerfest, and identified by Professor Sars from its remains ; its length was 30 feet (Norse), and the colour dark on the back, but lighter beneath. f It has, however, been suggested, with much probability, by Eschricht, that these individuals are, after all, only the males of the preceding species ; for all the specimens with broad crests, of which the sex was noted, were males. CUVIER S WHALE. Cuvier's Whale (Ziplihis cavirostris, Cuv. ; Epiodon desinarestii, J. E. Gray, ' Cat. Seals and Whales '), another of this remarkable group, has been met with once on the coast of Shetland, and it, or its remains, have been found about five or six times in other parts of Europe, and also, it is believed, at the Cape of Good Hope, the east coast of South America, and New Zealand. Professor Turner is of opinion that the geographical range of Ziphhis cavirostris equals that possessed by the Spermaceti Whale. | In colour this species is believed to resemble Sowerby's Whale ; it has two teeth, one on each side of the lower jaw, close to the extremity. * Bell's 'Brit. Quad.' p. 426. f Collett, ' Norges Pattedyifauna,' p. 99. \ 'Zoology of H. M. S. Challenger,' part iv., p. 29. SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. 105 Cuvier established the genus Ziphuis in 1825, from a fossil skull found on the coast of Provence in 1804, which he believed at the time to belong to an extinct animal. SOWERBY S WHALE. One more British Ziphioid is known, SoWERBv's Whale {Mesoplodon sowerbiensis, De Blainville) ; it was first described from a specimen which came ashore at Brodie, Elginshire, in 1800, and has since been found three times in Ireland ; there is also a skull in the Museum of Science and Art at Edinburgh, which belonged to a specimen believed to have been captured somewhere on the Scotch coast ; the remains of five others are preserved in various Continental museums. Of the individual which came on shore on the coast of Kerry, in March, 1864, Mr. Andrews has given a description in the " Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," for April, 1867. Fortunately, it came under tlie notice of Dr. Busteed, of Castle Gregory, who being interested in zoolog}^ and aware of the great importance of the occurrence, photographed the head in several positions while it was yet fresh : Dr. Busteed's photographs were reproduced in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. The head had unfortu- nately been removed immediately behind the frontal portion of the skull, the base of which is lost, as are also the other parts of the skeleton. The total length of the animal was about fifteen feet, the two teeth largely developed and projecting like the tusks of a boar. On the under part of the throat the V-shaped furrow was very conspicuous. Sowerby's specimen was coloured black above, and nearly white below. The skin was smooth like satin. " Im- mediately under the cuticle the sides were completely covered with white vermicular streaks in every direction, which at a little distance appeared like irregular cuts with a sharp instrument." io6 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. DELPHINID.^. The remaining family, Dt'lpliitudcc, as before stated, is a very numerous one. It has ten representatives in the British fauna, contained in seven genera, the first of which, according to the arrangement I have adopted, is that of Monodon. THE NARWHAL. The Narwhal {Monodon monoccros, Linn.) is a native of the Polar seas seldom leaving the ice ; stragglers have occurred three times on the British coast, one in 1648 in the Firth of Forth, another came ashore alive at Boston, in 1800; the third was taken in Shetland in 1808. This species is very numerous in the frozen seas to the north of latitude 65°, and is remarkable for the enormous development in the male of the left canine tooth, which is projected forward in the form of a tusk or spear, reaching to the length of six or eight feet, while the right tusk remains abortive, and does not pierce the alveolus. The spear is of fine compact ivory, hollow for the greater part of its length, grooved spirally from left to right, along its outer surface, the spiral generally making five or six turns, but smooth at the end, and bluntly pointed. Although the right canine is rarely developed, a few examples have occurred in which both tusks were present; the female is very rarely furnished with this appendage. Mr. J. W. Clarlc, in a paper on a ' Skeleton of Narwhal, with two fully- developed tusks,'* writes as follows: — "The sk'ulls of the Toothed Whales Pi'oc. Zoo!, Sol., 1871, pp. 41-53. SEALS AAW WHALES OF THE BRLTLSH SEAS. 107 are generally asymmetrical, being twisted more or less, usually towards the left. This peculiarity is especially observable in Monodon. One would expect it to be greatly exaggerated in the skulls of the males, where the left tusk alone is developed, and the left maxillary is, in consequence, very large, and the right proportionately small ; but it does not seem to be affected by the absence or presence of the teeth. Female skulls, where neither tusk is developed, are equally twisted, and so are the bidental skulls .... the increased size of the right maxillary docs not appear to affect the rest of the skull." Mr. Clark enumerates eleven skulls of the Narwhal in which both tusks are developed ; four at Copenhagen, and one each in the museum of Hamburg, Christiania, Amsterdam, Weimar, Hull, Paris, and Cambridge; to these must be added a twelfth, which was brought from Prince Regent's Inlet, by Capt. Gravill, of the " Camperdown," and is now in the Dundee Museum. Not long since I saw preserved in a country mansion, the tusk of a Narwhal measuring 7 ft. 5 in. long ; it was carefully kept in a long case resembling a barber's pole, and bore a ticket attached, which stated that it was "Bequeathed in 1 561 by the Countess of , to her daughter ." No doubt at the time this formed a valuable bequest, as even royal and ecclesiastical dignitaries are said to have esteemed these strange objects (probably associated with the mythical unicorn), as " good against " poisons and fevers, and prized them accordingly. The use of this remarkable appendage appears very doubtful ; it has been conjectured that it serves to stir up food from the bottom of the sea, in which case the female would be badly off without it ; or that it is employed to keep breathing-holes open in the ice, and an instance is related in support of this view, in which hundreds were seen at an ice-hole protruding their heads to breathe, but it is not clear whether they made the hole for themselves, or whether they were attracted by it, particularly as there were numbers of White Whales with them. It seems io8 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSLL SEAS. certain, however, that the tusk, which is frequently found in a broken con- dition, is used for purposes of attack and defence. Like the horn of the stag, it is, no doubt, a sexual distinction. The Narwhal is very social in its habits, great numbers being often met with together ; its food consists of cuttle-fish and crustaceans. The length of the full-grown animal is about i6 feet, the upper parts gray, the sides and belly white, and the whole animal spotted with black and gray. The only authentic figure of the Narwhal with which I am acquainted is that given by Scoresb}' ; this is so well known from frequent reproduction that it is not necessar}' to give it here. THE WHITE WHALE, The White Whale, or Beluga {Delphinapterus leucas, Pallas), like the preceding species, is a native of the Polar seas, where it is common ; it is abundant in the White and Kara Seas, and in the Gulf of Obi ; on the coast of Norway it is occasionally met with. From Scotland, five individuals have been recorded, but it must be regarded as only an accidental straggler. On the east coast of America it is found as far south as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where, as in the White Sea, it delights in ascending the mouths of large rivers. No English examples have been met with, but, in the British Association Report on the Fauna of Devonshire (1869, pp. 84 and 85) occurs the following passage. "Mr. H. P. Gosse writes: — 'On August 5th, 1832, I was returning from Newfoundland to England, and was sailing up the British Channel close to the land, when, just off Berry Head, I saw under the ship's bows a large cetacean of a milky white hue, but appearing slightly tinged with green from SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. 109 the intervening stratum of clear water. It was about 16 feet long, with a round bluff head. It continued to swim along before the vessel's head, a few yards beneath the surface, for about ten minutes, maintaining our rate of speed, which was five knots an hour, all which time I enjoyed from the bow- sprit a very good view of it. It could have been no other than the White Whale, the B. borealis of Lesson.'" Mr. Alston also states that Mr. J. G. Gordon informed him that in June, 1878, "he saw a large white cetacean, presumably of this species, in Loch Etive." Fit: Beluga, caught by the tail, iiuar Dunrobin, Sutlicrlandsliire. In a communication to the Zoological Society of London,* quoting a letter from the Rev. Dr. Joass, of Golspie, Professor Flower thus describes the singular capture of one of these rare visitants to our seas : — " It was found close to the salmon-nets, near the Little Ferry, about three miles to the westward of Dunrobin, Sutherlandshire, at ebb tide, on Monday, June 9th, 1879, caught by the tail between two short posts, to which a stake-net was fastened ; and a salmon, of 18 lbs. weight, which was supposed to have been Proc. Zool. Soc, \?iT), pp. 667-9 (tiy which Society tlic above woodcut was kindly lent). no SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTLSLL SEAS. the object of its pursuit, was found in front of it. It measured 12 ft. 6 in. in length. The tail was 34 inches across, and the flippers 17 inches long. It was a female [adult] and had twenty teeth in the upper jaw, and sixteen in the lower. The stomach contained a few flakes of fish, which, from their size and colour, might have been salmon I have heard since, that two days before its capture, it \\'as seen off Cracaig by Brora fishermen, who were lying at their lines. At first they thought it was a human body; as it approached, against the ebb, they took it for a ghost ! " On examining the skull of this specimen. Professor Flower discovered that, at some previous period of the animal's existence, the atlas had been completely dislocated, " the whole of the surfaces, formerly in apposition, being now free from each other," an injury to an aquatic animal as difficult to account for as it is to imagine the possibility of its surviving, but affording a remarkable instance of the creature's recuperative power. The Whales exhibited at the Westminster Aquarium, in September, 1877, and again in May, 1878, belonged to this species; unfortunately they did not live to equal in docility and intelligence a specimen exhibited in America, which " learned to recognize his keeper, and would allow himself to be handled by him, and at the proper time would come and put his head out of the water to receive the harness " by which he was attached to a car in which he drew a young lady round the tank, — or to take his food. A specimen of DelpJiiiius tnrsio, which was for a time with him in the same tank, is said to have been even more docile than this remarkable animal.* The adult Beluga is pure white, and a " school " of these animals " leaping and plaj'ing in the calm, dark sea," is said to be a very beautiful sight. In summer the Green- landers kill great numbers, extracting the oil and drying the flesh for winter use ; in Russia, the prepared skin is much used for reins or other parts of • Ann. and Mag. Nal. Ilist., 3rd scries, vol. 17, p, 312. o SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRITLSH SEAS. 113 harness requiring great strength and hghtness ; in this country, too, under the name of porpoise-hide, it is now extensively used, and the salted skins sell for from 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. per lb. The whale-ship, " Arctic," of Dundee, brought home 600 skins from Davis Strait, in the season of 1880. The length of the full-grown animal is about 16 ft., and its food consists of fishes, Crustacea, and Cephalapods. THE GRAMPUS, OR KILLER. The common GRAMPUS, or KiLLER {Orca gladiator, Lacepede), (fig. 23) is a well-known and widely-dispersed species, being found in both the North Atlantic and Pacific Seas. Andrew Murray says "the common Grampus tumbles through the heavy waves all the way from Britain to Japan, vid the North-west Passage." In the British seas it is frequently met with, and has occurred in several instances on the coast of Norfolk. This species is very fierce, its appetite insatiable, and carnivorous in the strictest sense of the word; to the Greenland and White Whale, as well as to Porpoises and Seals, it is an implacable enemy, and follows them ruthlessly. Dr. Brown says, " the White Whale and Seals often run ashore, in terror of this cetacean, and I have seen Seals spring out of the water when pursued by it. The whalers hate to see it, for its arrival is the signal for every Whale to leave that portion of the ice." Eschricht took out of the stomach of a Killer, 21 ft. long, which came ashore in Jutland, no less than thirteen common porpoises and fourteen Seals. The rounded, compact form of this species gives the idea of great strength and swiftness, and the beautifully-polished glossy black skin of the back contrasting with the equally pure and well-defined white of the lower parts N 114 SEALS AND WHALES OF TLIE BRITLSH SEAS. has a very striking effect ; over the e)'e there is a well-defined white spot. It is a ver)' handsome species, but there is something in its appearance which seems to indicate its cruel nature. Thirteen or fourteen strong, slightly curved teeth arc found on either side of both jaws ; the flippers are broad and oval-shaped, the dorsal fin high and falcate, particularly in the male. As my object is mainly that of assisting in the identification of casual visitants to our shores, rather than of giving anj-thing like a history of the known British species of Cetacea, it may be desirable to mention here a very remarkable form, which, although it has never been known I'it'. 24. rsiujona a-asihlciis (Owen). to occur in the flesh on our shores, was first made known to science from an imperfect skeleton found in a semi-fossil condition beneath the peat in a Lincolnshire Fen. To this Dolphin, " come back, as it were, from the dead," and which forms a connecting link between the genus Oixa and the genera Grampus and Glohiccphaliis (and which Owen had named Phoccrna crassidens), Reinhardt gives the name of Pscudorca crassidcns. On the 24th November, 1861, a large shoal of these dolphins made their appearance in the SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRITLSH SEAS. 115 Bay of Kiel. The sailors succeeded in separating about thirty of them from the remainder, but all, with one exception, escaped. This was a female 16 feet long, which, after being exhibited at Kiel and other places, was bought for the Museum of the University of Kiel. In the summer of 1862, three other individuals, presumably from the same shoal, were thrown ashore on the north-western coast of Zealand. Of the general appearance of this creature the accompanying figure (24), copied, by kind permission, from Professor Flower's translation of Reinhardt's paper,* published by the Ray Society, will give an idea ; the figure is from a photograph of the Kiel specimen, and is not in the original paper. The length is from 16 to 19 feet ; of the colour no account is given, but, judging from the woodcut of the Kiel specimen, it appears to be uniformly shiny black. The number of teeth differs in indi- viduals, but in this one it was from 9 to 10 on either side of the lower jaw, and 8 to 10 in the upper. From the observations made by Reinhardt, he suggests a possibility that there may be " a difference in the sizes of the different sexes, and whether the females are not larger, but at the same time, perhaps, provided with a head comparatively smaller than that of the males." It is very suggestive of how little we know of the inhabitants of the sea, that at least one vast shoal of a species known only from its sub-fossil remains should be roaming the seas only to be accidentally discovered when its members became entangled in shallows from which probably many never lived to extricate themselves. RISSO'S GRAMPUS. RiSSO'S Dolphin {Grampus griseiis, G. Cuvier; Grampus cuvieri, Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist., 1846) is a rare and little-known species, which has been met Read before the Royal Danish Society of Sciences, in 1S62. ii6 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRLTISH SEAS. with four times on tlie south coast of England, and about eight times in France. In the 'Transactions' of the Zoological Society, for 1871, Professor Flower gives an account of an adult female whicli was taken in a mackerel- net, near the Edd}-stone Lighthouse, on 28th February, 1870, and which eventually was sent up to London. About a month later, a second specimen was received in London, the precise locality of which was not known, but it was probably from somewhere in the Channel. This was also a female, but a very young animal, and as the adult female first taken had recently given birth to a }-oung one, it is quite possible that it may have belonged to her. Fig. 25. Risso's Dolphin {Gramtublishers have added such a map as has never yet been executed of this county, showing, as it does, not only the rivers and broads, and other principal pieces of water, but the sites of heronries and decoys (used or disused), gulleries, and other localities, having a special mterest for Naturalists." — Norfolk Chronicle. " Tlie 'Fauna' is a bouk which everyone should read who desires to know something of the natural history of ^oxio\Ss.."— Norfolk News. "Absolutely rehable and authoritative as a work of reference, and invaluable to every naturalist and ornithologist," — Live Slock Journal. JAKROLD AND SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON AND LONDON AND EXCILANGE STREETS, NORWICH. Lar£e 8vo., Cloth Boards, Seven Shillings and Sixpence. %mMn 4 ^ Pa:tea:Ii§t IN EGYPT AND OTHER COUNTRIES, WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE CLAIMS OF CERTAIN FOREIGN BIRDS TO BE CONSIDERED BRITISH, AND OTHER ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. BY J. H. GURNEY, Jun., F.Z.S ARROl.I) AND SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON; AND LONDON AND EXCHANGE STREETS, NORWICH.