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Right Whale
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Length.—50 to 60 feet.
Description.—Head enormous, equal to one-third of the total length; highly arched above the level of the back; mouth cavity consequently large and whalebone very long. Bones of the neck always fused together, no fin on the back and no longitudinal groves on the throat. Colour black, sometimes slightly varied with white below.
Range.—North Atlantic Ocean.
Few persons have opportunities to study the habits of the large whales and those who follow the business of whaling do not, as a rule, record the facts that they may discover regarding the lives of these interesting creatures. The experience of most of us is limited to the glimpse of an occasional spout far out to sea or perhaps the sight of a stranded whale washed up on the beach, a great shapeless mass partially imbedded in the sand and often advanced in decay. It is not always easy to identify such specimens until the skeleton is laid bare, and it is not surprising, since much of our knowledge of whales is based upon skeletons and stranded specimens cast up at widely distant points, that zoologists are still in considerable doubt as to just how many kinds of whales exist.
From the accounts of those who have studied these gigantic animals in life we learn that when not frightened they remain at the surface to breathe from one and a half to two and a half minutes during which time they spout from six to nine times and then disappear for ten to twenty minutes. When at the surface the top of the arched head and the middle of the back are the only parts which project from the water.
This whale and the allied bowhead (Balaena mysticetus) of the Arctic regions are especially prized by the whalers on account of the great length of their whale-bone.
Speaking of the right whale of the Pacific, which is closely allied to the Atlantic animal, Captain Scammon says: "We find the habits of these animals when roaming over the ocean full of interest. They are often met with singly in their wanderings, at other times in pairs or triplets and scattered over the surface of the water as far as the eye can discern from the mast head. Toward the last of the season they are seen in large numbers crowded together. These herds are called 'gams' and they are regarded by experienced whalers as an indication that the whales will soon leave the grounds." It is their habit, he states, to blow seven to nine times at a "rising" and then "turning flukes," as the whalemen say, and elevating the tail from six to eight feet clear of the water, they go down for periods of twelve to fifteen minutes.
Whales of all sorts have been so persistently pursued and killed that they are to-day very much reduced in numbers and the survivors have become so wary that it is much more difficult to hunt them than it was in former years.
Originally whales came regularly along the New England coast and were hunted from shore, the boats putting out after them as soon as they were sighted, but as years passed they learned to keep farther out to sea and vessels had to be especially equipped for their pursuit. In his account of whale-hunting Scammon states that when the whale has been sighted the whale boats with their full equipment and manned by their regular crews are lowered from the vessel and start upon the chase. "The whale is approached in the most cautious manner to avoid exciting it. If necessary, the oars are used, but in calm weather the paddles are resorted to. When within darting distance, which is about three fathoms, the order is given to the boat steerer to stand up. He instantly springs to his feet and, seizing the harpoon (to which a long rope is attached), he darts it into the whale. If opportunity offers a second iron is also thrown before the animal gets out of reach. When the harpoons are darted the order is given to 'stern all' and the oarsmen make every effort to force the boat astern in order to be well clear of the animal in its painful convulsions from the first wounds received.
"When struck the whale may attempt to escape by running, if so, every exertion is made by the boat's crew to haul up the animal so as to shoot a bomb into it or work upon it with a hand lance or, if the creature descends to the depths below, which is called 'sounding,' every effort is made to check the movement by holding on to the line or by slowly slacking it. In this manoeuvre the boat is occasionally hauled bow under water. Sometimes all the line is taken out almost instantly, when it is cut to prevent the boat from being taken down and the whale escapes.