Food of the Sperm Whale.—Manner of Feeding.—Swimming.—Breathing.—
Herding.
In the many books which have been written of whaling voyages, we
recollect nowhere to have seen a _natural history_ of the sperm
whale, and we trust it will not be uninteresting to the reader if we
give it in the present volume. It can not but be instructive, at all
events, and, being satisfied on that point, we shall proceed; and,
first,
_The Food of the Sperm Whale_.—This food consists almost wholly of
an animal called by whalemen “squid,” and by naturalists the “_Sepia
octopus_.” This squid forms the principal part of the sustenance of
the sperm whale when at a distance from the shore, or what is termed
“off shore ground.”
_Manner of Feeding_.—It appears from all that we could learn from
the oldest and most experienced whalemen that we met, and from the
observations we have been enabled to make upon this interesting
subject, that when the whale is inclined to feed he descends a
certain depth below the surface of the ocean, and there remains in
as quiet a state as possible, opening his long and narrow mouth
until the lower jaw hangs down almost perpendicularly. The roof of
his mouth, the tongue, and especially the teeth, being of a bright,
glistening color, must present a remarkable appearance, which seems
to be the incitement by which his prey are attracted, and when a
sufficient number are within the mouth, he rapidly closes his jaw
and swallows the contents. This is not the only instance of animals
obtaining their prey by such means, when the form of their bodies,
from unwieldiness or some other cause, prevents them from securing
their prey in any other manner, or by the common method of the chase.
The crocodile frequently employs stratagems of the like nature.
Covering himself in mud, and lying still on the bank of some stream,
he opens his enormous jaws, when hundreds of smaller reptiles,
attracted by the mucus or slime which covers his exterior, become the
easy prey of the artful machinations of their scaly deceiver.
The sperm whale is frequently subject to deformity of the lower
jaw, two instances of which we have seen, in which the deformity
was so great as to render it impossible for the animal to find the
jaw useful in catching its prey, or even, one might have supposed,
in deglutition; yet these whales possessed as much blubber, and
were as rich in oil as any of a similar size we have seen before or
since. In both these instances of crooked jaws, the nutrition of the
animal appeared to be equally perfect. In both cases the jaws were
bent on one side. It would be interesting here to inquire into the
causes of this deformity; but whether it is the effect of disease,
or the consequence of accident, would be difficult to ascertain. Old
whalemen affirm that it is caused by fighting. They state that the
sperm whale fights by rushing head first one upon the other, their
mouths, at the same time, wide open; their object appearing to be
the seizing of their opponent by the lower jaw, for which purpose
they frequently turn themselves on their side. In this manner they
become, as it were, locked together, their jaws crossing each other,
and in this method they strive vehemently for the mastery. We have
never had the fortune to witness one of these combats, but if it
be the fact that such take place, we need not wonder at seeing so
many deformed jaws among sperm whales; for we can easily suppose the
enormous force exerted on these occasions, taking into consideration,
also, the comparative slenderness of the jaw-bone in this animal.
From these facts it may at least be surmised, with a great degree
of probability, that the mode of procuring food as above stated is
the true one; for with a jaw so much deformed, the animal would seem
incapable of pursuing his prey, and would consequently gain but a
very precarious subsistence, did not its food actually throng about
its mouth and throat, invited by their appearance, and attracted in
some degree, as is supposed, by the peculiar and very strong odor of
the sperm whale.
The teeth of the sperm whale are merely organs of prehension. They
can be of no use for mastication, and consequently the fish, etc.,
which he occasionally vomits present no marks of having undergone the
process.
The manner of the suckling of the young ones is a matter involved
in some obscurity. It is impossible, from the singular conformation
of the mouth, that the young one could seize the nipple of the
mother with the forepart of it, for there are no soft lips at this
part, but instead the jaws are edged with a smooth and very hard
cartilaginous substance; but about two feet from the angle of the
mouth they begin to be furnished with something like lips, which form
at the angle some loose folds, soft and elastic, and it is commonly
believed by the most experienced whalemen that it is by this part the
young whale seizes the nipple and performs the act of sucking, and
which is doubtless the mode of its doing so.
_Swimming_.—Notwithstanding his enormous size, we find that the
sperm whale has the power of moving through the water with the
greatest ease, and with considerable velocity. When undisturbed,
he passes tranquilly along, just below the surface of the water,
at the rate of about two to four miles per hour, which progress he
effects by a gentle oblique motion from side to side of the “flukes.”
When proceeding at his common rate, his body lies horizontally,
his “hump” projecting above the surface, with the water a little
disturbed around it, and more or less according to his velocity. This
disturbed water is called by whalemen “white water,” and from the
greater or less quantity of it an experienced whaleman can judge very
accurately of the rate at which the whale is going from the distance
of three or four miles.
In this mode of swimming the whale is able to attain a velocity of
about eight or nine miles per hour; but when desirous of proceeding
at a more rapid rate, the action of the tail is materially altered.
Instead of being moved laterally and obliquely, it strikes the water
with the broad flat surface of the flukes in a direct manner, upward
and downward, and each time the blow is made with the inferior
surface the head of the whale sinks down to the depth of eight or
ten feet, but when the blow is reversed it rises out of the water,
presenting then to it only the sharp, cutwater-like inferior portion.
The blow with the upper surface of the flukes appears to be by far
the most powerful, and as, at the same time, the resistance of the
broad anterior surface of the head is removed, it is the principal
means of progression. This mode of swimming with the head alternately
in and out of the water is called by whalemen “going head out;” and
in this way the whale can attain a speed of ten or fifteen miles an
hour, and this latter is believed to be his greatest velocity.
The tail is thus seen to be the great means of progression, and the
fins are not much used for that purpose; but occasionally, when
suddenly disturbed, the whale has the power of sinking suddenly and
directly downward in the horizontal position, which he effects by
striking upward with the fins and tail.
_Breathing_.—All the _cetacea_, as is well known, are warmblooded
animals, and possess lungs, and, consequently, require a frequent
intercourse with atmospheric air, and for this purpose it is
necessary that they should rise to the surface of the water at
certain intervals. The majority of this class of animals do not
appear to perform this function with any regularity, and it is
in this respect that the sperm whale is remarkably distinguished
among the _cetacea_; and it is from his peculiar mode of “blowing”
that he is recognized, even at a great distance, by experienced
whalemen. When at the surface for the purposes of respiration the
whale generally remains still, but occasionally continues making a
gentle progress during the whole of his breathing-time. If the water
is moderately smooth, the first part of the whale observable is a
dark-colored pyramidal mass, projecting two or three feet out of the
water, which is called the “hump.”
[Illustration: SPOUTS OF THE SPERM AND RIGHT WHALE.]
At very regular intervals of time, the nose, or “noddle-end,”
emerges at a distance of from forty to fifty feet from the hump in
the full-grown male. From the extremity of the nose the spout is
thrown up, which, when seen from a distance, appears thick, low, and
bushy, and of a white color. It is formed of the expired air, which
is forcibly ejected from the spout-hole, acquiring its white color
from the minute particles of water previously lodged in the chink
or fissure of the nostril, and also from the condensation of the
aqueous vapor thrown off by the lungs.
The spout is projected from the spout-hole at an angle of about
forty-five degrees, in a slow and continuous manner, for the space
of about three seconds of time. If the weather is fine and clear,
and there is a gentle breeze at the time, it may be seen from the
masthead of a moderate-sized vessel at the distance of five or six
miles. The spout of the sperm whale differs much from that of other
large _cetacea_, in which it is mostly double, and projected thin,
and like a sudden jet; and as in those animals the spout-holes
are situated nearly on the top of the head, it is thrown up to a
considerable height in almost a perpendicular direction. When,
however, a sperm whale is “gallied” or alarmed, the spout is thrown
up much higher and with great rapidity, and consequently differs much
from its usual appearance. The regularity with which every action
connected with its breathing is performed by the sperm whale is very
remarkable. The length of time he remains at the surface, the number
of spouts or expirations made at one time, the intervals between the
spouts, the time he remains invisible “in the depth of the ocean
buried,” are all, when the animal is undisturbed, as regular in
succession and duration as it is possible to imagine.
In different individuals the times consumed in performing these
several acts vary, but in each they are minutely regular, and this
well-known regularity is of much benefit to the whaleman; for, when
he has once noticed the periods of any particular sperm whale which
is not alarmed, he knows to a moment when to expect it again at the
surface, and how long it will remain there.
Immediately after each spout the nose sinks beneath the water,
scarcely a second intervening for the act of inspiration, which
must consequently be performed very quickly, the air rushing into
the chest with astonishing velocity. There is, however, no sound
caused by the expiration or spout; in this respect, also, differing
from other whales, for the “fin-back” whale and some others have
their inspirations accompanied by a loud sound, as of air forcibly
drawn into a small orifice. This sound is called by whalemen the
“drawback,” and when heard at night near the ship, convinces the
listening watch of the species to which it belongs. In a large “bull”
sperm whale, the time consumed in making one inspiration and one
expiration, or the space from the termination of one spout to that of
another, is ten seconds, during six of which the nostril is beneath
the surface of the water, the inspiration occupying one, and the
expiration three seconds; and at each breathing-time the whale makes
from sixty to seventy inspirations, and remains, therefore, at the
surface of the water eleven or twelve minutes. At the termination
of this breathing-time, or, as whalemen say, when he has had his
“spoutings out,” the head sinks slowly, the “small,” or the part
between the hump and flukes, appears above the surface of the water,
curved with the convexity upward; the flukes are then lifted high
into the air, and the animal, having assumed a straight position,
descends perpendicularly to an unknown depth. The act is performed
with regularity and slowness, and is called by whalemen “turning
flukes;” an act, too, which is always noticed by those at masthead,
who call loudly, when they disappear below the surface, “T-h-e-r-e
goes flukes!” The whale continues thus hidden beneath the surface
from sixty to seventy minutes; some will remain an hour and twenty
minutes. If we take into consideration the quantity of time that the
full-grown sperm whale consumes in respiration, and also the time
he takes in searching for food and performing other acts below the
surface of the ocean, we should find that a seventh of the time of
this huge animal is consumed in the function of respiration.
The females being found generally in large numbers and in close
company, it is difficult to fix the attention upon one individual,
so as to ascertain precisely the time consumed below the surface.
However, as all in one school generally rise at the same time, it may
be observed that they remain below the water about twenty minutes.
They make from thirty-five to forty expirations during the period
they are at the surface, which is about five minutes, and they thus
consume about a fifth of their time in respiration, a proportion
considerably greater than that of the adult males.
When disturbed or alarmed, this regularity in breathing appears
to be no longer observed. For instance: when a “bull,” which,
when undisturbed, remains at the surface until he has made fifty
expirations, is alarmed by the approach of a boat, he immediately
plunges beneath the surface, although he may not have performed more
than half the usual number of his expirations. He will soon rise
again not far distant and finish his full number of respirations; and
in this case, also, he generally sinks without having assumed the
perpendicular position before described. On the contrary, he sinks
suddenly in the horizontal position, and with remarkable rapidity,
leaving a sort of vortex in the place where his huge body lately
floated.
When urging his rapid course through the ocean in that mode of
swimming which is called “going head out,” the spout is thrown out
every time the head is raised above the surface, and under these
circumstances of violent muscular exertion, as would be expected, the
respiration is much more hurried than usual.
[Illustration: HEAD OUT.]
_Other Actions of the Sperm Whale_.—When in a state of alarm, or
gamboling in sport on the surface of the ocean, the sperm whale
has many curious modes of acting. It is difficult to conceive any
object in nature calculated to cause alarm to this leviathan;
notwithstanding which, he is remarkably timid, and is readily alarmed
at the approach of a boat.
When seriously alarmed, he is said by whalemen to be “gallied,”
and in this state he performs many actions very different from his
usual mode, as has been mentioned in speaking of his swimming and
breathing, and many also which he is never observed to perform under
any other circumstances. One of them is what is called “sweeping,”
which consists in moving the tail from side to side on the surface
of the water, as if feeling for the boat, or any other object that
may be within reach. The whale has also an extraordinary manner of
rolling over and over on the surface, and this he does when “fastened
to” from a boat. At times they place themselves in a perpendicular
posture, with the head only above water, presenting, in this
position, a most extraordinary appearance. When seen from a distance
they resemble large black rocks rising out of the midst of the ocean.
This posture they seem to assume for the purpose of surveying more
accurately or more easily the surrounding expanse. A species of
whale, called by whalemen “blackfish,” is most frequently in the
habit of assuming this position.
The eyes of the sperm whale, being placed in the widest part of the
head, of course afford the animal an extensive field of vision, and
he appears to view objects very readily that are placed laterally in
a direct line with the eye, and when they are placed at some distance
before him. His common manner of looking at a boat or a ship is to
turn over on his side, so as to cause the rays from the object to
strike directly upon the retina.
Now, when alarmed, and consequently anxious to take as rapid a glance
as possible on all sides, he can much more readily do so when in the
above-described perpendicular position. Occasionally, when lying at
the surface, the whale appears to amuse itself by violently beating
the water with its tail. This act is called “lop-tailing,” and the
water lashed in this way into foam is termed “white water,” and by it
the whale is often recognized from a great distance.
But one of the most curious and surprising of the actions of the
sperm whale is that of leaping completely out of the water, or of
“breaching,” as whalemen term it. The way in which he performs this
extraordinary motion 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 he reaches the surface,
when he darts completely out. When just emerged and at its greatest
elevation, his body forms with the surface of the water an angle of
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, and seldom breaches more than twice or thrice at
a time. In very clear weather, on the Japan ground, we have seen the
breach of a large whale at a distance of sixteen miles; but, as a
general thing, eight or ten miles is the distance that a breach may
be discovered from masthead.
[Illustration: BREACHING.]
It is probable that the sperm whale often resorts to this action of
breaching for the purpose of ridding itself of various animals which
infest its skin, such as large “sucking-fish,” and other animals
which resemble crabs. Of the former of the parasites, some fix
themselves so closely to this convenient carrier that they sometimes
adhere to the skin of the whale for several hours after its death,
and then suffer themselves to be forced off by the hands of the
whalemen. It is not improbable, also, that some of these actions may
be resorted to in the whale endeavoring to avoid the assaults of the
swordfish, by which they are sometimes attacked. There is also
an animal called a “killer,” which, in company with the swordfish,
attack the whale. The latter will goad him from below, while the
former leaps out of the water and falls upon him from above, the
attack thus intimidating the whale, and giving the swordfish an
opportunity to inflict its wounds.
_Herding_.—The sperm whale is a gregarious animal, and the herds
formed by it are of two kinds; the one consisting of females, the
other of young bulls not fully grown.
[Illustration: A SCHOOL.]
These herds are called by whalemen “schools,” and occasionally
consist of great numbers. With each school of females are always
from one to three large males, the lords of the herd. The males
are said to be extremely jealous of intrusion by strangers, and to
fight fiercely to maintain their rights. The full-grown males, or
“large whales,” almost always go alone in search of food, and,
when they are seen in company, are supposed to be migrating from
one feeding-ground to another. The large whale is generally very
incautious, and if alone, he is without difficulty attacked and
easily killed, as he frequently, after receiving the first blow from
the harpoon, appears hardly to feel it, but continues lying like a
“log of wood” on the water before he rallies or makes any attempt to
escape from his enemies.
Large whales are sometimes, but rarely, met with remarkably cunning
and full of courage, when they will commit dreadful havoc with
their jaws and tail. The jaw and head, however, appear to be their
principal offensive weapons.
The female breeds at all seasons, producing but one at a time, except
in a few instances, in which two are produced. Her time of gestation
is unknown, but is supposed to be about ten months. Their young,
when first born, are about twelve or fourteen feet in length, and
five or six in girth. The females are much smaller than the males,
being considered not more than one fourth the size of the adult large
whale. They are very remarkable for attachment to their young, which
they may frequently be seen urging and assisting to escape from
danger with the most unceasing care and fondness. They are also not
less remarkable for their strong feeling of attachment to each other;
and this is carried to so great an extent, that, should one female of
a herd be attacked and wounded, her faithful companions will remain
around her to the last moment, or until they are wounded themselves.
This act of remaining by a wounded companion is called by whalemen
“bringing to,” and whole schools have been destroyed by dexterous
management, when several ships have been in company, wholly from
these whales possessing this remarkable disposition. The attachment
appears reciprocal on the part of the young whales, which have been
seen about the ship for hours after their parents have been killed.
The young males or “young bulls” go in large schools, but differ
remarkably from the females in disposition, inasmuch as they make an
immediate and rapid retreat upon one of their number being struck,
who is left to take care of himself. They are also very cunning and
cautious, keeping at all times a good look-out for danger. It is
consequently necessary for the whaleman to be extremely cautious in
his mode of approaching them, so as, if possible, to escape being
seen or heard, for they have some mode of communication one to
another, through a whole school, in an incredibly short space of
time. They are consequently much more troublesome to attack, and
more dangerous and difficult to kill, great dexterity and dispatch
being necessary to give them no time to recover from the pain and
fright caused by the first blow. When about three fourths grown, or
sometimes only half, they separate from each other and go singly in
search of food.
All sperm whales, both large and small, have some method of
communication with each other by which they become apprised of
danger, and this they do, although the distance may be very
considerable between them, sometimes amounting to six, seven, eight,
or even ten miles. The method by which these communications are
carried on remains a curious secret.