The dolphin—Delphinus delphis—is perhaps the most familiar of all cetaceans. It is a world-wide species, which is particularly common in the Mediterranean. There it has been observed from very early days, and a great number of mythical stories have gathered round it; hence the stories of Arion and others. “The leaping of the dolphin out of the water is exemplified in many Mediterranean coins and coats-of-arms; the heraldic dolphin is represented with an arched back as in leaping.” Many of the animals usually claimed as porpoises are really dolphins.
Fig. 7.—The Dolphin (after McCoy).
One of the most famous animals of this group, one with a world-wide reputation, is “Pelorus Jack,” the pilot-dolphin of the French Pass, known for many years to every traveller between Wellington and Nelson. This famous “whale” has been photographed scores of times, and his general form and large dorsal fin are well known. I am indebted to Messrs. Sharland and Co. (Limited) for permission to reproduce the photograph shown in Fig. 8. For something like twenty years he met every steamer that came through the French Pass, whether by day or night. His “station,” if one may use the word, was somewhere off the mouth of Pelorus Sound, and as soon as a passing vessel got within a mile or two of this region “Jack” would be seen racing along until he was alongside, when he would escort the boat for some distance before racing off again. Among various yarns told about him was one that he used to rub himself on the vessels, presumably either for a scratch on the back or to divest himself of some of the fish-lice which frequently infest whales. I have seen him on several occasions, and never to greater advantage than when he accompanied the little trawling-steamer, the “Doto,” as we were going into the French Pass. He kept alongside and played round the bows for over five minutes, and then sheered off to visit a larger vessel which was coming in from Cook Strait. In Hutton and Drummond’s “Animals of New Zealand” he was stated to be a Beluga, or White Whale, and was identified as Delphinapterus leucas; but this is purely a northern species. Waite considers it is a Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus), and says “the general colour of the animal is grey, curiously marked with scratch-like lines, which are probably caused by the cuttlefishes which form the staple food of the grampus.” In a pamphlet published in 1911 by James Cowan on “Pelorus Jack” it is stated that “he is a dolphin of a bluish-white colour, tinged with purple and yellow, and with irregular brown-edged scratch-like lines covering the upper surface of his body. His flippers are dark in hue, mottled with grey. He is about 14 ft. in length—as nearly as can be judged, for he doesn’t stay still very long—and he is blunt of nose, humped of forehead, with a high falcate (or scythe-shaped) dorsal fin and a narrow fluked tail.” By an Order in Council of the 29th September, 1904, it is notified that for five years from that date it would not be lawful for any person “to take the fish or mammal of the species commonly known as Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus) in the waters of Cook Strait, or of the bays, sounds, and estuaries adjacent thereto.” Any person committing a breach of this regulation was liable to a fine of not less than £5 nor more than £100. This regulation was renewed from time to time, an Order in Council of the 24th April, 1911, extending it for a further period of five years. The regulation was aimed solely at the protection of “Pelorus Jack,” the only individual marine animal, I believe, which has thus secured Government protection.
Fig. 8.—Pelorus Jack, a Famous Dolphin.
The Maoris believe that Kaikai-a-waro, as they call “Pelorus Jack,” has been known to their race for some three centuries, and a considerable body of legend has grown up about him. One European skipper, Captain Turner, of Nelson, met with a big white “fish” in Pelorus Sound nearly fifty years ago, and he thinks this is the same as the whale which afterwards took up its station towards the French Pass.
It was stated in 1911 that the carcase of “Pelorus Jack,” bitten by sharks, had been washed up on D’Urville Island. It was found, however, that the animal discovered there was a bottle-nosed whale. Meanwhile it is a fact that the “pilot-whale” has not been seen for some years, and whether he has “passed out” or merely shifted his quarters no one knows.
The list of New Zealand whales is not yet exhausted. Mention has just been made of the Bottle-nose (Prodelphinus obscurus), which is not unfrequently met with. A more interesting animal is the Killer Whale (Orca gladiator), often spoken of as the “grampus,” a word which itself is a contraction of the French grand poisson, or big fish. The killer is marked with contrasting bands of white or yellow upon a black body-colour. It is a fairly large species, growing to a length of 30 ft. It is a powerful and rapacious whale, and it is stated that as many as thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals were taken from the stomach of one of them. This is a large order, and perhaps the culprit died of a surfeit; if not, it certainly deserved to.