WHALE CAPTURED.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 May 1917, Page 4

WHALE CAPTURED.

ON NEW PLYMOUTH BBAflfe 1 At New Plymouth yesterday a whala was captured and killed on the Ngamotu beach, just below the bore. It is not often that there"le*»&A«'of the sca<bme ao cloao iu ahoie, Thiijrhale was cruising about in. this bay fdr;»Omo tlnic. Tts movements were observed by a workman at the Blenheim bore. Holt by flame, and seeing the Whale sp clOso and evidently in difficulties, he afceutied a stout rope, and wading into the surf up to his waist, he made i jljj knot, < and by a lucky throw, atlcccMe'd" in lessoning the- -whale by. the taiL ,-■ i

Willing hands quickly peiced the rope, and the whale, deprived of the u» of his main propeller, was soon Hauled through the surf and stranded. A* the tide receded the struggles of the cetacean were without avail, and in an hour'i tfme he was lying high and dry and despatched. ■ (. • ■

It was found that the monster sured 35 feet in length;-with * girth .of some eighteen or twenty feet; the tail was twelve feet.aorosa, the.flns.s feet long, and the mouth six feet long. ' Tho news was soon circulated, and quickly drew a crowd. Speculation' was rife 83; to the value of the capture, «nd ourios< ity evakti&aß Reference to Jlrnest Protheroe'n "Handy Natural History of Mammal" abjows that the monster is a, hump-backed wlralo which attain a length vf forty-five to fifty feet, with flippers in the adujt specimens ten to fourteen feet long, and the species ranges, through the. seat 'ot> all latitudes between the two frozen ocean i. The skin is a'DlMbek in color, gtttl the belly blubber is divided i/ito,longitudinal folds, with grooves sometimes two inches in depth, in whieh and •other sea vermin exist an<J tdrftrri" the whale unmercifully; so Dm. <&e huge body is sometimes scarred through the 'whale trying to dislodge'Mi toMiientora by scratching his Body Oftjiggsa reefs. Hump-backs usually .yield, #, moderate amount of oil, but "a* tie eicliafof has become very scarce tho hump-back is hunted much more frequently than was; formerly the case.

It is not known why the huge mammal came so close in shore, but the fact that a large 18 or .fiO foot svßfrdM hag been neen in the harbor during- the previous day or two may aceount for it. The swordfish is one of tbi'turers of the deep, and feed* only on proy that it' has first hunted and killed. Although the sword fish is armed with such a deadly weapon as its name implies,'its teeth and gums are very soft and tender This being the' case- the swordfitrtt-rips- op»» tha stomach of its victim and feeds on the Boft intestines. Shark's frequently follow the swordfish during his hunts, »nd quickly devour the remainder of the. incapacitated victim. It Ts probable tjiat the whale at Ngamotu bach was hunted in shpA by tliia swordfish.

. It is rmdoretooil that Messrs Sole Bfo*, intend cutting up the whale early fhia morning at their trying-out works on th« Waiwakaihp river, where the blubber ■(fill be extracted and the residue prpb- i, ably converted into fertiliser. It is a pity if this is done till to-morrow,! as vfcho whale is an object of considerable interest, especially to the children, and it is hoped, an effort will be made; to postpone tho butchering operations until the public nave had an opportunity of viewing this very interesiing specimen of ,the deep.