KILLED IN BATTLE?

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 124, 28 May 1935, Page 10

KILLED IN BATTLE?

BOTTLENOSE WHALE FOUND. UNCOMMON SPECIES. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) NEW PLYMOUTH, Monday. An unusual visitor to these waters, a bottlenose, or bottlehcad whale, was found lying high and dry on Oakura Beach, about eight miles from New Plymouth, this morning. It measured 18ft in length and 12ft 2in in girth. The whale was discovered by residents of beach cottages at Oakura, and there was considerable conjecture as to the species to which it belonged, until it was identified by Mr. W. W. Smith, a well-known New Plymouth naturalist. Mr. Smith stated that the species was not common to New Zealand waters, but was occasionally found in the south. The colour of the whale was glossy black, verging to white underneath, but tho most striking feature was the abrupt rise of the head from the snout. A triangular-shaped tooth projected from the gum at the end of each lower jaw, and the blowhole was crescent-shaped. Countless scars on the carcase testified to p;any a grim battle. A deep round gash in its side, which appeared to have been inflicted by a swordfish, was probably the cause of death. The whale had evidently only recently been killed, as several wounds in the body were still bleeding when it was found.