WHALE HUNTED RELENTLESSLY AND IS FAST DISAPPEARING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19241, 1 December 1930, Page 8

WHALE HUNTED RELENTLESSLY AND IS FAST DISAPPEARING.

To-Day’s Signed Article

Specially Written For The “Star,” By James K. Dillon.

Science has become concerned for the safety of the whale. The greatest animal that swims is being hunted so relentlessly that men of science have been called upon to make a full study of the deep sea mammals to learn of their habits and ways of living in the hope that some means of protection may be afforded this valuable creature.

When science begins a study, every side of the subject is thoroughly examined. The Carnegie Institution of Washington has been digging up the remains of ancient whales in order to learn something of their history and their past, when the world was young. Dr Remington Kellogg, in charge of this interesting branch of science, has become one of the world’s authorities on the whale.

A_ S EVERYONE KNOWS, the whale is really an animal. It breathes air direct, and whales suckle their young. The whale’s blood is warm and nearly of the same temperature as that of a man. Even its ability to swim seems to come in a way that is similar to the ability of a land animal that has learned to adapt itself to the water. The value of the whale lies in the fat that serves to keep him warm in swimming about in the cold water. And because this fat and oil is of a very high quality and can only be had in the capturing of the giant monster, the whale swims about with a price on its head. Aeroplanes Used. When a creature becomes valuable every method of hunting that will bring success is resorted to, hence, recently, aeroplanes have been used to discover the whale and signal to the fast motor-ships to bring their guns into action. In the North Pacific aeroplanes soar for hundreds of miles along the coast line hunting for the great black animals of the deep. When they sight them they either signal to the ship or fly back to give the location of the whales when last seen.

To-day the whaling industry, like the meat industry, has come to utilise nearly every part of their capture. On the dinner tables of Far Eastern merchants, when company is to be more especially honoured, salted whale tails are served. The pliable whalebone is used_ in scores of fashionable ways. Many delicate soaps and other toilet articles are based largely on the oils of the whale. Hard-fibred brushes to sweep obstinate corners of the home get the raw material from the leaping, plunging animal of the sea. Hunting the wbale is still a great sport. Although the aeroplane and the harpoon gun with its time fuse have reduced the whale’s chances to a bare minimum there yet remains a thrill for the fisherman who seeks to play with the great whale. Protection and Breeding Grounds. Science has been learning many interesting facts regarding the whale which are all being catalogued, and will one day be the basis of some new whaling industry that will

seek to give protection and perhaps lay-out breeding grounds for these ocean giants. Dr Kellogg says that the whale has come to adapt himself in many ways to a life in the water. His breathing is such as to permit feeding without letting the water enter his lungs during swimming. The whale has strange eyes, and they are quite immovable eyeballs with no eyelashes no supporting cartilage or lubricating glands in the lids. Yet the whale can see especially well beneath the water, where the light is weak. The blue whale is said to carry a harpoon line down for 220 fathoms, where it has to withstand a pressure of 630 pounds to the squire inch. It remains below the surface for 32 minutes. The blue-nosed, beaked whale and the sperm whale are said to descend half a mile, and possibly a mile. Pressures at such depths are enormous, approximately 1178 pounds to the inch at half a mile and 2349 at a mile. In these instances the whale’s eye has withstood these pressures, and without apparent harm. The eye is protected by a gland that instead of keeping it moist as in land animals it keeps it covered with a fine coat of oil, and thus keeps out the salt water which would otherwise irritate it. British Museum Also Working. The British Museum has also been studying the whale. But in order to learn enough to be able to effectively save the creature from extermination by giving it protection it is also necessary to know more about ocean currents and meteorology as it affects whale food, the temperatures, salinity and currents of the sea. It is known that humpbacks and blue whales live largely on plankton, which is strained from the sea water by the whale bone of the mouth. The composition and distribution of plankton are being studied as well. f It is entirely possible that one day the League of Nations or some international body of men representing seafaring peoples will have determined all these facts, and will have set apart some area of the ocean for the protection and breeding of these giant creatures (Anglo-American N.S.' Copyright.) i IS 33 ® HI IS HI m ® IS © SI ® ® IS HI ® ® S ® E*i SI 13