IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 16749, 2 January 1915, Page 6

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY IN

NEW ZEALAND.

(By J. DRUMMOND, F.L.S., F.Z.S.) Perhaps the strangest species of whale found in New Zealand waters is tho strap-toothed wliaie. In general appearanco it is merely an ordinary whale, black and grey in colour, and about twenty feet long, but, its teeth grow in such an extraordinary way th.it they excite boundless curiosity. There are only two teeth, one on each side in tho lower jaw, some distance from the point of tho beak. They are placed opposite each other, and are shaped like straps, about two inches broad. They grow upwards and slightly backwards, with a tendency towards die centre of the upper surface of the beak. As the wlialo gets on to middle life these straplike teeth gradually meet over the upper part of the beak, and in time make it impossible for the animal to open its mouth to the full width. It seems, iudeed, that thev must almost lock the jaws together, ns if they had been bound by iron bands. In that case there- is nothing for the animal but death from starvation. Few opportunities have been afforded for studying the habits of the strap-toothed whale, and it : s not certain that this awful fate inevitably awaits it, but many years ago a specimen was thrown up on the shores of the Great Barrier Island, and the skull, which is preserved, shows that the tips of the teetli had actually met over the upper beak. Another specimen mas stranded on the Waipara Bench. North Canterbury, about forrv years ago. A third, a male, was found at, Allandale, in Lyttelton Harbo.u*, in 1912. It is represented by a good cast- in the New Zealand Gallery jf Canterbury Museum. It wins seen it seven o’clock in the morning of March 22. Tho tide, falling rapidly, had -ut off its retreat to deep water, and had left it in great difficulties on a mud flat. Mr J. Davenport, of Allendale, waded out abreast of it, and when it saw him and realised its predicament it uttered a series of roars, like the roaring of a sea lion. It lashed tho water into foam and made a deep hole in the mud, and it lived in the pool for some time before it died. It was towed by a motor-boat down the harbour to. Lyttelton, accompanied by many dog-fishes, which tried to attack the carcase. Its last resting place was the Museum yard, where a cast was taken of the body.

The dolphins, porpoises and whales belong to the same group, and some small whales, as well as . dolphins and porpoises, are included in the family Delphiniclse, which is well represented in New Zealand waters. The animal called “ the dolphin,” which is about six feet long, usually is found in the open sea, far from land. . It seems to have a special weakness for flying fishes, and often is the cause of those fishes rising out of the water. It is brownish above and white below, and its beak is long. It belongs moro to.the North Island than to the South Island. The cow-fish, which is about twelve feet long, is dark slaty blue above and white below, has a short beak, and favours the southern parts of New Zealand. The bottle-nosed dolphin, which has a very short beak, and conspicuous black and white markings, is one of the commonest members of the dolphin family in New Zealand waters, notably in Cook Strait and northern parts. The black fish, about twenty feet long, is almost uniformly black in colour, gregarious' in habits, and timid in disposition. The white whale, which is rare in New Zealand but plentiful in Hudson Bay and Davis Street, is very docile, ana is easily tamed. The porpoise, which frequents tho coasts, never goes far from land, and sometimes, comes close in on the breakers. It can be distinguished fairly easily at a distance by its white snout and forehead. It is believed that Pelorus J’lck is a member of the species, called Risso’s dolphin, Grampus 'griseus. If this is so, he is anotner. New Zealand member of the family Delphinid®. ,

There is still another New Zealand member of this family that should be mentioned when dolphins are being dealt with. This is the notorious Orca gladiator—the warrior cetacean—of tho ancients, better known in these days as the killer whale, and sometimes called by sailors the ocean wolf. It is the largest, the most active, most powerful, most rapacious, and most ferocious member of the family, and it is a terror to all other mammals of the sea. It is from twenty to thirty feet long, dark above and white below, and has a white mark over each eye. Several killers often unite in attacking a large animal, which one could not vanquish. They frequent Antarctic seas, and explorers of the southern regions have known them to bump the ice on which a man or a pony stood in order that the victim might' fall through into the water. An,old writer has stated that a killer whale was seen once with a seal under each flipper, another seal under the fin on the back, and a fourth seal in the mouth. It seems to be hardly fair to ask that this should be believed, but a reliable observer has stated that no fewer than thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals were taken from a killer’s stomach. Another naturalist, a recognised authority on whales, states that these dolphins may be seen peering above the surface with a seal iu their bristling jaws, shaking and crushing their victims and swallowing them. Some years ago the Prince of Monaco chased a school of three killers near the Monaco rock. One was struck by his whaler’s harpoon. While it was ending its life with violent struggles the others came alongside the whaleboat and seemed to be ready to fight for their companion. Thoy swam around the boat, sometimes so close that the men touched the creatures’ backs with their hands.

Perhaps the most graphic description of an attack by killers on a whale is by Mr F. Pullen. Ho first saw one killer leap high into the air and descend on the victim's broad smooth back with a resounding crash. It leapt into the air . again and again, falling on the whale’s back on each occasion, as if to beat him into submission. The 6ea foamed and .boiled like a cauldron. Only occasional glimpses could be obtained of the killer until the worried whale lifted its hoac, clear of the surrounding smother, revealing two furies hanging on to liis lip, ono on each side, as if they were trying to drag his mouth open. This, evidently, was their chief object, as whenever, during the tumult, they were seen they were in tiie same position. Finally the tremendous and incessant blows dealt by the most active member of the trio seemed to exhaust the immense vitality of the groat whale, who lay supine upon the surface. Then the three joined forces and succeeded in dragging opnn the cavernous mouth, into which they freely entered, devouring the tongue. This was their ultimate object, for as soon as they had finished their barbarous feast they departed, leaving the whale helpless and dying, to fall an easy prey to cho men in the whaleboats.