. The seals and whales of the British seas. d at the Westminster Aquarium, in September, 1877,and again in May, 1878, belonged to this species; unfortunately they did notlive to equal in docility and intelligence a specimen exhibited in America,which learned to recognize his keeper, and would allow himself to behandled by him, and at the proper time would come and put his head out ofthe water to receive the harness by which he was attached to a car in whichhe drew a young lady round the tank,—or to take his food. A specimen ofDelpJiiiius tnrsio, which was for a time with him in the same tank,
. The seals and whales of the British seas. d at the Westminster Aquarium, in September, 1877,and again in May, 1878, belonged to this species; unfortunately they did notlive to equal in docility and intelligence a specimen exhibited in America,which learned to recognize his keeper, and would allow himself to behandled by him, and at the proper time would come and put his head out ofthe water to receive the harness by which he was attached to a car in whichhe drew a young lady round the tank,—or to take his food. A specimen ofDelpJiiiius tnrsio, which was for a time with him in the same tank, is said tohave been even more docile than this remarkable animal.* The adult Belugais pure white, and a school of these animals leaping and plajing in thecalm, dark sea, is said to be a very beautiful sight. In summer the Green-landers kill great numbers, extracting the oil and drying the flesh for winteruse ; in Russia, the prepared skin is much used for reins or other parts of • Ann. and Mag. Nal. Ilist., 3rd scries, vol. 17, p, o SEALS AND WHALES OF TLLE BRITLSH SEAS. 113 harness requiring great strength and hghtness ; in this country, too, under thename of porpoise-hide, it is now extensively used, and the salted skins sell forfrom 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. per lb. The whale-ship, Arctic, of Dundee, broughthome 600 skins from Davis Strait, in the season of 1880. The length of thefull-grown animal is about 16 ft., and its food consists of fishes, Crustacea,and Cephalapods. THE GRAMPUS, OR KILLER. The common GRAMPUS, or KiLLER {Orca gladiator, Lacepede), (fig. 23)is a well-known and widely-dispersed species, being found in both the NorthAtlantic and Pacific Seas. Andrew Murray says the common Grampustumbles through the heavy waves all the way from Britain to Japan, vid theNorth-west Passage. In the British seas it is frequently met with, and hasoccurred in several instances on the coast of Norfolk. This species is veryfierce, its appetite insatiable, and carnivorous in the
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