WHALE KILLED BY ELECTRICITY
NEW HARPOON USED FOR FIRST TIME (New Zealand Press Association.) BLENHEIM, May 23. An electric harpoon was tised to kill a whale in Cook Strait to-day. It was the first time that the Perano brothers. Who operate the whaling station in Tory Channel, had used the electric harpoon. “The whale just rolled over without a struggle,” said Mr Perano. The harpoon carries a devastating electric charge through a thick cable connecting the harpoon to generator equipment on a chaser. To-day’s catch was a humpback whale, which was sighted well to the south Of the Tory Channel look-out. A chase of 18 miles by two chasers was necessary, but only one harpoon was used. The whale was later brought into Tory Channel by the mother ship, Tuatea. Previously it took up to half an hour to kill a whale with explosive harpoons. Unless the first harpoon hit near a vital spot, a whale, in Mr Perano’s words, "simply took off,” and it was necessary for other chasers to get alongside and use two or three gelignite bombs. The whale then had to be inflated to prevent it from sinking.
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Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25811, 24 May 1949, Page 4
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192WHALE KILLED BY ELECTRICITY Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25811, 24 May 1949, Page 4
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