White Whales in Captivity.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 76

White Whales in Captivity.

Although belugas, or white whales (Del' phinapterus leucas), have on several occasions been exhibited to. the public in » living condition, very little information conscerning the habits of these cetaceans ha« hitherto been published, and- considerable interest therefore attaches to observation:, made by Mr F. W. True on two specimens which were kept for some time during' the summer of 1908 in a large tank on one of the piers at Atlantic City, New Jersey. One of the two specimens, believed to be a female, and) measuring about 10ft in length, survived -only a short time ; but the second, which was certainly a female, and measured Bft 2in in length, lived about a month longer. These cetaceans are generalh described as being pure creamy white, but, according to Mr True, th« larger of the two Atlantic City specimens was purplish white, with darker purplishgrey spots, lines, and mottlings, more especially on the head. The smaller female i« described as being light purplish, with the forehead, upper lip, and blow-hole whitish, a dark purplish band extending backwards along the middle line of the head behind tlie blow-hole and the hind edges of the flippers, except the extreme margins, which were white, dark purple. The smaller specimen, which was in good health when first observed, was constantly in active movement, swimming continually from one end of the tank to the other. As a rule it remained under water from two to three minutes at a time, and when it came to the surface did so with the head raised, and spouted five or six times in an irregular manner. Its movements in swimming were likewise irregular, these consisting e.b one time of "rollings" in a vertical pl*n« after the fashion of dolphins, while on other occasions they took the form of lateral rollings. In the act of expiration % distinct metallic sound was audible, bufc inspiration was usually silent, although it might be accompanied by a faint noiee. Movement was effected by means of the flukes; but, although the whole tail was extremely flexible, the flukes did not on any occasion exhibit a screw-like motion. In the course of examining the skulls of belugas in the United States National Museum Mr True made the interesting discovery, that, when perfect, some at least of ah« teeth are triouspid, instead of being, as previously supposed, simple cones. As the porpoise has cusp teeth, while in those off; dolphins of the genus Steno the enamel is rugose, it seems legitimate to conclude, in the light of the new discovery, that the 1 teeth in the earlier representatives of the dolphin family were furnished witib a number of cusps, and we have thereby another link between the modern members of the group and the extinct shark-toothed^ dolphins of the family Squalodontidse, ml which the large, compressed, triangular cheek teeth are distinctly serrated..