CAAING, OR PILOT WHALE.
THE CAAING, OR PILOT WHALE, OR DEDUCTOR,[242] is one of the best known Whales that frequent the British coasts, herds of hundreds having often been run ashore in the Shetlands, Orkneys, and even in the Firth of Forth. Adults average from sixteen to twenty-five feet in length, are of a jet-black colour, but lighter or whitish on the abdomen. The body is cylindrical, tapering to the tail; the dorsal fin is high, placed at the middle of the back; the flippers are unusually long and narrow, and the fingers possess an unusually great number of bones, as many as fourteen to the second digit. The head is quite characteristic, having the form of a massive boss. The teeth are somewhat numerous, namely, 24–24 24–24 = 96. When these Whales are seen gambolling in the bays of the Scottish shores, the hardy fishermen start in their boats and form a cordon seawards. Then by gunshots, shouts, splashings, and throwing stones they drive them towards the shore; and as the animals madly plunge to shallower water, pressing through fear one over the other, the men dash into the water and begin havoc with harpoons, scythes, spears, picks, or spades—indeed, whatever weapon comes handiest. Thus numbers, from even fifty to as many as two hundred, fall an easy prey. Such an encounter took place in 1867 near Prestonpans on the Firth of Forth, when one Whale wounded by harpoons struck seawards, hauling a boat and crew of twelve men nearly as far as Inchkeith ere it succumbed. There may be more than one species of this Whale, widely distributed, but whether or not, their habits and general appearance have much in common.
A rather remarkable form is RISSO’S GRAMPUS,[243] inasmuch as its colouring and marking are so variable, and in some cases so characteristic; indeed, no two specimens yet obtained can be said to be alike. The head is fuller and rounder than that of the Porpoise, and its flippers longer and narrower—in these respects approaching the Pilot Whale. The prevailing tint is grey, darker above, and under parts paler, and in some there are a few indistinct and irregular lighter-coloured bandings. In other examples, notably one obtained by M. Risso in the Mediterranean, and by Professor Flower on the British coast, the side of the body and even top of the head exhibited a mass of intercrossing, wavy, scratched lines and spots of white and grey, following no special pattern. It has been found both on the French and English coasts in spring and summer, but is suspected to be migratory, visiting Europe in summer, and proceeding to the African or possibly the American continent towards winter. The variation in colour has given rise to different specific names. Somewhat intermediate between the foregoing and the Porpoises, are certain forms found on the Indian coasts and even the Irrawaddy River; the genus Orcella, for example, combining the head of the Pilot Whale with the body and flippers of the Porpoise.
RISSO’S GRAMPUS. (After Flower.)
THE COMMON PORPOISE,[244] the marsouin of the French or meerschwein of the Germans, is the most familiar Cetacean of the British and adjoining coasts. Their average length is four or five feet, though often more. The colour slightly varies with age and sex, more usually a polished bluish-black tint on the upper parts, merging into a pink or mottled grey or whitish below. The dorsal fin and flippers are both of moderate dimensions. Their head is roundish, and not so blunt or bomb-like as in the Globiceps, nor so sharp-nosed as in the true Dolphin tribe. Its diminutive eye, no visible ear, tapering body, and broad tail are all markedly Cetacean in character, so that, though small, it gives a very good idea of the Whale tribe generally. The semilunar transverse blow-hole as it rises to the surface slightly opens, but in a tank no lofty jet of vapour is thrown up as is the case with the large Whales at sea. In looking into the pink-coloured mouth one sees above and below a row of small equal-sized simple teeth, and a flat tongue which is not protrusible. The dental formula is 20–20 20–20 = 80, or 26–26 26–26 = 104. In structural detail, both internally and in the skeleton, it is a fair type of the group Delphinidæ. Porpoises either of the common sort or species barely to be distinguished from it have a tolerably wide distribution, being found all over the Mediterranean, Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic regions. They evidently migrate, as they appear in Davis Strait in the spring, and stop there till November. They are true fish-feeders, and herd in enormous numbers. A prettier sight can scarcely be conceived than a large shoal frolicking, dashing, and springing in all manner of fantastic curves with an amazing rapidity. Woe betide the “schools” of Herrings, Mackerels, and Pilchards that are followed by these rapacious creatures, which cause great havoc among them! They give birth to their young about May. Mr. H. Lee, on Mr. Scott Siddons’ authority, relates that in the surveying voyage of the Herald the natives of Moreton Bay entreated the seamen “not to shoot their tame Porpoises.” These crowded lazily near the shore, and when a shoal of fish entered the bay the people roused the Porpoises, which dashed among the fish, ate some, and drove the rest ashore. Porpoise flesh, though no longer an article of diet, was once held in high estimation, and even graced the royal table as late as the time of “bluff King Hal.” Porpoise meat was generally eaten with a kind of mint sauce, and porpoise pudding was not an unusual dish during Lent as coming under the denomination of supposed fish. “Porpoise leather” now in vogue is in reality the skin of the White Whale.
SHOAL OF PORPOISES.
