Supposed Extinct "Devil-Fish" Found.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 23 October 1914, Page 2

Supposed Extinct "DevilFish" Found.

RESEARCH IN _ If^^A/fji J% The ''devilfisl^iorv^ey'^gjfl^is 5 supposed to hav^it.e€^{|^^ct Tor years, but the i^i^n thought to catch u#fstray specimen of it, or procure its bones, so they sent an expedition to Korea. The Californian grey whale is of special -SPOI^ 1106 since it apparently represenl^linl^ tween ; greaV ; iamili,es.._...o.^ whalebonev-fehal^. /"fieie^clMof was •^entrusted.._to. Mr. Roy C. An-' drews. ,He .writes Th^lTKe'liactTreard™ reports i;i fri&i * >; Oriental' Whji'liitg Company that a whale called11> ths d cv il 6^;;*©o:^ti*ut©4-i"^4^e^basis-_.;QjE» their fishery on the Korean shores during the months of December and January. He was tremendously interested in this for it seemed that possibly here was to be an opportunity of rediscovering the grey whale. The Oriental Whaling ComS'^^i^ll^n:i^4'l'to feruier^i;Mr. - "&s.?■• ,-~§, re™s, Jail _ja,ssfstancie*' *iii "its' poWer" 'for ■"'accomplisiiing''We'^'cSfes'ired^orTc;" and he pays tribute to the courtesy and true scientific spirit with which the Japanese nation [is inspired.. Phis is his narrative:— ' -•-•*-■: J When I arrived in the Orient everything had been prepared f or. «iy .reception. I left Japan immediate! y 'upon one of the company's transports for the Korean station, situated, in. a beautiful bay at TJlsan, on the east coast, 40 miles north of Fusan. . .The next day I had Uily\ifrst '■ .^iejy : '-'-'Tjf tne- Cdlii^Fnia,^§r.eyJvih:aXd',.'J}or a splendid specimen was brought in by the steamship Olga Maru. . I shall never forget the excitement with «-. whic.h.^^exs^ine^ . th^extr aojdinary i I inimajp'^nitjj s'tu^iedf J3fe skeleton tas Utt r wf^ |^^felp|Jflish. {.Thk ;resemblance to a right whaler the -typical representative;.. IbfT the;; I^ale-., nide, is striking, and yet an examiV ;oa.tidn; ;|of the.; ;bones shows many characters allying 'it to the fin whales of Balenopt&BidSeVi _/Is, wag. especially interesting to examine the specimen with reference to the accounts of the species which have already been published, for all are ■neagre and full of inaccuracies. Probably no whale has more individual peculiarities than has this species.;. ; the shape. of the head, of aniire body, is quite unlike that of any other large cetacean. |?ts habits, too, are distinctly inrlifidual. About the middle of December the animals begin to appear on the coast of central Korea, following the shore line closely on their migration to the islands of tHe south. First come a few straggling males, ; ;t,hen^<thß, &sn^t>|>iiyi:,i of f epiales, and * iat'er? m'alefe^aJdnfc bisn giEJig up the re^ aSM!JQ:2!SSt'* ttSir v:6fTh16--fjeinales are carrying young, aild they head for the quiet waters a|nong the, many islands of- south Krorea, where the birth takes placed 3$ April the young are Targe* jertough to travel northward and acJted/mpany their parents on the long -/trip to the Okhitsk Sea and the Rebound shores of the arctic. While |£fe ship is following agfftirvilfish jthe animal will sjb&etfiaea!'. c^me tcf :;ifie surface very""sfowly^and^iiietlyt ■ ~?c|it just the nostrils above the p|ater and blow so softly that no &!f)lumn of vapour is formed. It £fill -then, sink noiselessly without ;: having ''than :lß f;i6r* '":|0 in;- ooil its, ;;bpdy ;i above, the ,fsur- - fe-ce. ...I* will also swim along the f- ihore/ ;6fteii;' •'actually'; jcollmg^ in ; :'the; j^urf, ,?o P/ e|ofie,. : that. the., ship .can--soot follow; it will even slide in behind £rc/ekßnttndijii-yjJtd./Mde/ / TjntiiJ .: |he men on the vessel have become v;-|ired of waiting and leave. Grey whales live in perpetual terror of the killer whale, . which seems to single ■ put this' species ' especially for ■'attacks.; I^Wh'en; .a heiid, of .killer \yhales■'surround ,a devilfish the'latter'will |)ften= ''Wrn* fopon its^back,-' the ,;fins ] and lie quietly at the .■. ; *urface, seemingly paralysed ; b'y feat: :;;|The killers force open the mouth ,:; ;|s.nd at, times eat almost. the entire befbr(3 1; tWe^g'pey- -whafe esr^|capes ; or the animal may even be ; Jkilled and completely devoured.