A blue whale, eighty-five feet long, at Kyuquot, Vancouver Island. This is the largest animal that has lived upon the earth or in its waters, so far as is known at the present time.
The migration of the large Cetacea is a subject about which very little is known and of which but few positive statements can be made. In the case of only one species, the California gray whale, can we tell exactly where, when, and how far the animals travel, for this coast-loving whale migrates as regularly as do birds and the paths of its wanderings are known.
“In the water the sei whale may be easily recognized at a considerable distance by the form of the spout and the high dorsal fin which is prominently displayed as the animal swims at the surface.”
In the water the sei whale may be easily recognized at a considerable distance by the form of the spout and the high dorsal fin which is prominently displayed as the animal swims at the surface.
This species does not dive very deeply and when feeding its movements can usually be traced by the disturbed water, as well as by the clouds of birds hovering about the tiny sea animals which come to the surface.
“The sei whale has a roving disposition and wanders restlessly from one coast to another, sometimes ... suddenly appearing in waters where it has never before been known.”
In Norway the sei whale feeds upon the small red shrimp (Euphausia) and an exceedingly minute crustacean known as “Aate” (Calanus finmarchius); in Japan only three or four individuals which I examined during 1910 had anything but shrimp in their stomachs, although the natives say that sardines are often eaten, and call this species the sardine whale.