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
young 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 always 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, 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
Quadrupeds,’ 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 stay-at-home naturalists
of this country, certainly not the least interesting is that of the
Walrus (_Trichechus rosmarus_, 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 _propriâ personâ_,
instead of through the distorted medium of the badly-stuffed 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
Hakluyt’s ‘Pilgrimes,’ a young one was brought to England by Master
Thomas Welden, in the _God-speed_, and duly presented at Court. In
1853 the Zoological Society became possessed of a young one, which
lived only a few days in their Gardens. On the 1st of November, 1867,
another was received, which lived till the 19th of December, when it
unfortunately died, notwithstanding the care bestowed upon it, both
as regards food and accommodation. This 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 7. WALRUS, OR MORSE (_Trichechus rosmarus_).]
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.
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 1849 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.)[15]
The _Trichechus_ 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 like 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 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 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 water, holds the young one between her fore-fins.”[16] 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 overturn them, and piercing their sides
with its tusks: many serious accidents have been the result.
[Illustration: Fig. 8. _Vacca marina_ (reduced from Gesner).]
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_ of
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 considered 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 were
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
source of subsistence. The hardy tribes in the neighbourhood of Behring
Strait literally 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 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 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.”
[Illustration: Fig. 9. HEAD OF WALRUS (Modified after Murie).]
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 weight, 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 9 lb. 9 oz. The immensely elongated canine teeth which form
the “tusks,” are found in both sexes, but are shorter and more slender
in the female than in the male. The skin of the Walrus is valuable for
many purposes.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. “SEA HORSE” (_After Cook_).]
Few animals, so long known to man, have, when figured, been represented
so inaccurately as the Walrus: the hind feet are almost invariably
depicted 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 Attitudes and Figures of the Morse,’
in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for 1853, pp.
112-16, reproduces some of the wonderful prints of this animal from old
authors, most of which are purely imaginary: Fig. 8, p. 37, is copied
from one of these. 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 characterise each species. Reviving, after the
example of Malmgren, the almost obsolete generic name of _Odobænus_, he
describes the Atlantic Walrus under the name _O. rosmarus_; the animal
found in the Pacific he calls _O. obesus_. 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 and very protuberant. Cook’s figure reproduced at
p. 41, also that at p. 177 of Scammon’s book, are those of _Odobænus
obesus_, 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.[17]
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 difficulties in the way of studying the larger Cetacea, are so
great as to be almost insuperable to any ordinary person, and even
to the leaders of zoological science rarely 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_ be seen duly to appreciate
their grand proportions and perfect adaptation 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 which has been only partially
cleared away, chiefly by the labours of Professors Flower and Turner
in this country, and 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 _Cetacea_ 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 Linnæus 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 mammæ. They are
warm-blooded, and breathe by means of lungs, rendering frequent visits
to the surface of the water necessary, 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
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 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 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 11. MEDIAN SECTION, SHOWING OUTSIDE LEFT HALF OF
SKULL OF WHALEBONE WHALE, WITH BALEEN IN POSITION (_modified after
Eschricht_).
=Br.=, brain cavity; =J=, =J*=, upper and lower jaw-bones; =bo=,
=bo=, being roughened parts of the bone sawn through; arrows indicate
the narial passages, which open at =s=, spout-hole; =w=, whalebone;
=t=, tongue, in dotted outline; =n=, nerve aperture, lower jaw.
]
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 _Cetacea_ into two sub-orders:
First, _Mystacoceti_, or _Balænoidea_, 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, _Balænidæ_ and _Balænopteridæ_, to the former of which
belong the two genera of Right-Whales, _Balæna_ and _Eubalæna_; and
to the latter, two genera, namely, _Megaptera_ and _Balænoptera_. To
these two genera[18] belong the Rorquals, which occasionally occur
in the British seas. The second sub-order, _Odontoceti_, contains
the families of _Physeteridæ_, represented by the Sperm Whale,
Beaked Whale, and several allied species; _Platanistidæ_, consisting
of some curious forms found only in India and South America; and
_Delphinidæ_, comprising the Narwhal, Beluga, or White Whale, Grampus,
Porpoise, and Dolphins. The total number of British _Cetacea_ has been
variously estimated; Dr. Gray, in 1864, 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.