breathing time the Whale makes from sixty to seventy expirations, and remains
therefore at the surface ten or eleven minutes. At the termination of this
breathing time, or, as whalers say, when he has had his “ spoutings out,” the head
sinks slowly, the “ small,” or that part between the “ hump ” and “ flukes,” appears
above the water, curved with the convexity upwards; the “ flukes ” are then lifted
high into the air, and the animal, having thus assumed a straight position, descends
perpendicularly to an unknown depth. This act is performed with the greatest
regularity and slowness.’
They make from thirty-five to forty expirations of air while on the surface as
a rule, but a bull undisturbed will make as many as sixty. With regard to the
unusual attitudes assumed by this species, Beale remarks: ‘ The Whale has also
an extraordinary manner of rolling over and over on the surface, and this he does
especially when “ fastened to,” which means when a harpoon with a line attached
is fixed in his body, and in this case they will sometimes coil an amazing length
of line around them.
‘ They sometimes also place themselves in a perpendicular posture, with the
head only above water,1 presenting in this position a most extraordinary appearance
when seen from a distance, resembling large black rocks in the midst of the
ocean; this posture they seem to assume for the purpose of surveying more
perfectly, or more easily, the surrounding expanse.’ When observing the approach
of a boat the Sperm Whale has the habit of turning on its side to view the
object, and it is said to see much better when in the perpendicular position.2
The Sperm Whale frequently ‘ breaches,’ or throws itself completely out of the
water. This it does both in sport and to try to rid itself of the harpoon.
‘ The way in which he performs this extraordinary motion,’ says Beale,
‘ appears to be by descending to a certain depth below the surface, and then
making some powerful strokes with his tail, which are frequently and rapidly
repeated, and thus convey a great degree of velocity to his body before it reaches
the surface, when he darts completely out. The inclination his body forms with
the surface, when just emerged and at his greatest elevation, forms an angle of
1 The Californian Grey Whale and the Humpback both assume this extraordinary attitude.— J. G. M.
5 Mr. Thos. Southwell in .an article in the Field, November 14, 1903, makes an interesting suggestion as to the attitude
of this Whale when swimming on the surface:
‘ With regard to the oblique position assumed by this Whale in passing through the water, it is doubtless owing to the
centre of gravity being placed far back in the body of the animal (about the position of the “ hump”), for, notwithstanding
the enormous size of the head, owing to its vascular structure and the contained oil and spermaceti, its specific gravity is
much below that of the rest of the body; it would, therefore, have a natural tendency to tilt upward, and the greater the
speed the more would this tendency assert itself.’
about forty-five degrees, the “ flukes ” lying parallel with the surface; in falling
the animal rolls his body slightly, .so that he always falls on his side; he seldom
“ breaches” more than twice or thrice at a time or in quick succession.
' The " breach ” of a Whale may be seen from the masthead on a clear day
at the distance of six miles.
‘ Occasionally, when lying at the surface, the Whale appears to amuse itself
by violently beating the water with its tail; this act is called “ lobtailing,” and
the water lashed in this way into foam is termed "white water” by the whaler,
and by which he is recognised from a great distance.’
The only Sperm Whales I have seen were three individuals which came close
to the ship ‘ Norham Castle’ on January 30, 1893, about two hundred miles northwest
of Cape Town. One of these, apparently a large bull, threw itself completely
out of the water, when about five hundred yards distant, and its peculiar form
could be clearly distinguished. The two others remained f spouting’ on the surface
so long as we could see them.
Sperm Whales are gregarious, and roam about in ‘ schools’ or ‘ pods’ as they
are called. These sometimes consist of large numbefsg Beale says that he has
seen one ‘ school’ of as many as five to six hundred individuals. Such large
herds are seldom seen nowadays. With each herd are several large bulls, or
‘ schoolmasters,’ who will not permit the intrusion of strangers, but fight fiercely
to maintain their rights. Many old bulls roam about singly; when seen in company
they are probably changing their feeding grounds. These solitary males are
more incautious than ‘ herd’ Whales, and are easily attacked and killed by the
whalers.
The females appear to breed at all seasons. Curiously enough, they do not
seem to betray the affection for their young that is so marked an instinct in the
Fin Whales.
Mr. Frank Bullen remarks : ‘ Every other kind of Whale will guard its young
with its own life, and if the little one be accidentally killed will run amok, doing
terrible deeds in a wild effort at revenge. But the cow Cachalot does not seem
to consider her young at all. In a moment of panic she will leave i t® helpless
calf of a few days old— to fall a most easy prey to the first prowling gang of
sharks that happen along. This also is quite unexplainable, more especially when
the undoubted affection of the adults for one another is remembered.’
When in schools they will often stay near at hand when any member is
attacked and wounded. The act of remaining beside a wounded companion is