THE OKARITO WHALE.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13905, 2 December 1910, Page 9

THE OKARITO WHALE.

- « TO ___ EDITOR _T "THE .BESS." Sir, —Under this heading in to-day's "Prees," Mr Teschemaker-Shuto refers . ' to the claims made as to tho unique size of this now famous whale. He enclosed a letter received from a Danish, friend, which, in effect, reads: — ■> The head of a blue whalo in tho , Copenhagen Museum measures 19 feet 'in length, and the total "length of tho i' whole was about 150 feet, or about 60 ' )4 "meters, equal to 60 yards." . * Tho following extract from a letter " Kent to mc by Dr. Hector F. E. . Jungorsen, Director of tho museum in which the skull in question is preserved, should be conclusive, and should - satisfy all that the claims I hare maintained were not made without some .knowledge of the subject. "The Zoological Museum of Copenhagen pos- .. fieasep one of the most renowned collections of whales in the world, but I '- Jieed hardly say, no skeleton of that ..fornidable length of 1.50 feet. Of 4 ,,Ba.fe_op.ora sibbaldii (that is the blue /whale, and the same species as tho ' Okarito specimen) we have a complete '- .skull IJ> feet in length ; tho animal mea-■-ft?*"*' * cot * ut t * ,e remainder of - , this skeleton is not in the museum.'' . The measurements of the head of this- whale, as rendered hy tho friend ".of your correspondent and Dr. Jungersen are identical, and as the head in .''-*u ' an i ma ' B ,s fairly proportioned to th© total, tho ratio being about ono to four in the blue whale, it should be obvious that the Okarito whale, with a " *5_ * eef * In ' e,l _* n » * s larger than J« . Copenhagen one, whose head is 18 feet long. / .There is some evident discrepancy '-to tho figures of your correspondent's ~ "J??*' la) fc«t is only 50 yards, '■Jttula 60 metres is more than 65 yards, - W nearly 197 feet. 1 fear that tho • .nMSuromcnts mode by this gentleman ■ _.? .V? par with the accuracy of his • calculations—lours, etc. " n . . EDGAR R. WAITE. ianterburv Museum, November 29th, 1910.