NEW ZEALAND WHALING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12615, 18 November 1911, Page 4 (Supplement)

NEW ZEALAND WHALING.

_»» During- trie recent cruise in the North of the Terra Nova, Mr D. G. Lille (biologist to Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition) made a thorough inevestiga.tion concerning the type of Avhale caught near the shores of New Zealund, and for this purpose ho left the vessel at Wlianganmmu. Mr I_illo gave a, reporter at Christchurch somo information regarding this Avork in , the North. He stated that after lea"ving the Terra Nova he spent a, month at Jagger and Cook's av haling station near Whangauiumu. The station Avas not very large, but, nevertheless, its scope of operations allowed him to make a nuniber of exhaustive investigations. The species captured were tho balaena australis and tho megaptera (longimana). The former Avere almost identical Avith the right Avhale found in the North Atlantic, but were not very profit-able to catch. As the results of seA-eral months' A\ T ork in the A'ichiity of the Campbell Islands, Messrs Jagger and Cook were only able to catch thirteen balaehas, and as a result they Avere turning their attention to the megaptera, which Avas knoAvn to inhabit tlie coast line more- frequently. The balanoptera, Avhich Avas the fastest Avhale afloat . its speed being anything up to 15 knots, was Avell knoAvn in tho Northern Hemisphere, and as years rolled hf was invading the southern waters of the globe, and could be found on the coast of NeAV Zealand. There Avero two types of the balaenoptera, tho tibbaldi, aver^ aging about 75 feet long, and the masculas, about 65 feet long. They were obtainable in the pack ice along tho Ross Sea, but as only about ten Aveeks of the jyear Avero available to hunt the animal, he doubted Avhether tho expense Avould justify Avhalers in going there He found that whales apeared to liave a tendency to go south, and it Avas possible to find many of tlie northern species in tho south. During Mr Lille's stay at Whangamumu Messrs Jagger and Cook caught several hunch-back whales of the megaptera type. Very rarely the length of these animals exceeded 43 feet, and seldom 50 I feet. He spent most of his time dissecting the soft parts of tho anatomy of the whales, of which little is known in New Zealand, as in the past most of the investigations have been made from dead Avhales of somo time standing.