Life and Adventure in the South Pacific

by John D. Jones

Immediately after each spout the nose sinks beneath the water, scarcely a second intervening for the act of inspiration, which must consequently be performed very quickly, the air rushing into the chest with astonishing velocity. There is, however, no sound caused by the expiration or spout; in this respect, also, differing from other whales, for the “fin-back” whale and some others have their inspirations accompanied by a loud sound, as of air forcibly drawn into a small orifice. This sound is called by whalemen the “drawback,” and when heard at night near the ship, convinces the listening watch of the species to which it belongs. In a large “bull” sperm whale, the time consumed in making one inspiration and one expiration, or the space from the termination of one spout to that of another, is ten seconds, during six of which the nostril is beneath the surface of the water, the inspiration occupying one, and the expiration three seconds; and at each breathing-time the whale makes from sixty to seventy inspirations, and remains, therefore, at the surface of the water eleven or twelve minutes. At the termination of this breathing-time, or, as whalemen say, when he has had his “spoutings out,” the head sinks slowly, the “small,” or the part between the hump and flukes, appears above the surface of the water, curved with the convexity upward; the flukes are then lifted high into the air, and the animal, having assumed a straight position, descends perpendicularly to an unknown depth. The act is performed with regularity and slowness, and is called by whalemen “turning flukes;” an act, too, which is always noticed by those at masthead, who call loudly, when they disappear below the surface, “T-h-e-r-e goes flukes!” The whale continues thus hidden beneath the surface from sixty to seventy minutes; some will remain an hour and twenty minutes. If we take into consideration the quantity of time that the full-grown sperm whale consumes in respiration, and also the time he takes in searching for food and performing other acts below the surface of the ocean, we should find that a seventh of the time of this huge animal is consumed in the function of respiration.

The females being found generally in large numbers and in close company, it is difficult to fix the attention upon one individual, so as to ascertain precisely the time consumed below the surface. However, as all in one school generally rise at the same time, it may be observed that they remain below the water about twenty minutes. They make from thirty-five to forty expirations during the period they are at the surface, which is about five minutes, and they thus consume about a fifth of their time in respiration, a proportion considerably greater than that of the adult males.

When disturbed or alarmed, this regularity in breathing appears to be no longer observed. For instance: when a “bull,” which, when undisturbed, remains at the surface until he has made fifty expirations, is alarmed by the approach of a boat, he immediately plunges beneath the surface, although he may not have performed more than half the usual number of his expirations. He will soon rise again not far distant and finish his full number of respirations; and in this case, also, he generally sinks without having assumed the perpendicular position before described. On the contrary, he sinks suddenly in the horizontal position, and with remarkable rapidity, leaving a sort of vortex in the place where his huge body lately floated.

When urging his rapid course through the ocean in that mode of swimming which is called “going head out,” the spout is thrown out every time the head is raised above the surface, and under these circumstances of violent muscular exertion, as would be expected, the respiration is much more hurried than usual.

HEAD OUT.

Other Actions of the Sperm Whale.—When in a state of alarm, or gamboling in sport on the surface of the ocean, the sperm whale has many curious modes of acting. It is difficult to conceive any object in nature calculated to cause alarm to this leviathan; notwithstanding which, he is remarkably timid, and is readily alarmed at the approach of a boat.

When seriously alarmed, he is said by whalemen to be “gallied,” and in this state he performs many actions very different from his usual mode, as has been mentioned in speaking of his swimming and breathing, and many also which he is never observed to perform under any other circumstances. One of them is what is called “sweeping,” which consists in moving the tail from side to side on the surface of the water, as if feeling for the boat, or any other object that may be within reach. The whale has also an extraordinary manner of rolling over and over on the surface, and this he does when “fastened to” from a boat. At times they place themselves in a perpendicular posture, with the head only above water, presenting, in this position, a most extraordinary appearance. When seen from a distance they resemble large black rocks rising out of the midst of the ocean. This posture they seem to assume for the purpose of surveying more accurately or more easily the surrounding expanse. A species of whale, called by whalemen “blackfish,” is most frequently in the habit of assuming this position.

The eyes of the sperm whale, being placed in the widest part of the head, of course afford the animal an extensive field of vision, and he appears to view objects very readily that are placed laterally in a direct line with the eye, and when they are placed at some distance before him. His common manner of looking at a boat or a ship is to turn over on his side, so as to cause the rays from the object to strike directly upon the retina.

Now, when alarmed, and consequently anxious to take as rapid a glance as possible on all sides, he can much more readily do so when in the above-described perpendicular position. Occasionally, when lying at the surface, the whale appears to amuse itself by violently beating the water with its tail. This act is called “lop-tailing,” and the water lashed in this way into foam is termed “white water,” and by it the whale is often recognized from a great distance.