page_title: Drift whale
section_title: Locations
hierarchical_section_title: Drift whale / Overview / Locations
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: animalsinactions00broo (find matches) Title: Animals in action; studies and stories of beasts, birds and reptiles; their habits, their homes and their peculiarities Year: 1901 (1900s) Authors: Brooks, Elbridge S. (Elbridge Streeter), 1846-1902 Subjects: Publisher: Boston, Lothrop pub. co Contributing Library: The Library of Congress Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: takes the offensive, overturns or smashes a whaleboatwith a mighty blow fof the tail, and sometimes even breaks ahole in the side of a whaling ship, sinking the vessel with all onboard. Such a performance is not to be wondered at when itis remembered that a full-grown sperm whale often measuresninety feet in length and nearly thirty-five feet about thethickest part of the body. The muscular strength of the giantis marvellous, even when considered with reference to the sizeof his body. The sperm whale differs from the other greatcetaceans chiefly in the form of the head and the shape of thelower jaw, which is noticeably smaller than that of the otherwhales. To approach a sperm bull whale is so risky a ven-ture that no really accurate representation of the living animalis obtainable. A much better opportunity for study of the species isafforded when, as frequently happens, one of these giants hasbeen cast up by storms upon some beach, where he soon dies * v~ X- -V- ™. ■V-- Ir^- ^^^ Text Appearing After Image: Stranded Sperm Whale and Polar Foxes. SPERM WHALE AND POLAR FOX. 279 and is devoured eagerly by beast and fowl. Our picture showsthe carcass of a stranded sperm whale which has already beensurrounded by greedy gulls and voracious ice foxes. The last-mentioned animals are degenerate relatives of Master Reynard,and live in the polar regions of the Old and New Worlds. Theice fox is much smaller than our well-known barnyard robber,and in summer wears an earth- or stone-colored coat, while inwinter he resembles very closely the color of the snow amidstwhich he lives. The ice fox eats any animal that he can seize,and does not disdain even carrion. Since the sea throws upmany varieties of dead creatures, these voracious little beastsare seldom in want of food. Nevertheless, they often fight overtheir prey, when the victors shriek like angry cats. The ice foxintrudes into human dwellings with amazing boldness, andArctic explorers are often put to their wits to protect them-selves against thei Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: A drift whale is a cetacean mammal that has died at sea and floated into shore. This is in contrast to a beached or stranded whale, which reaches land alive and may die there or regain safety in the ocean. Most cetaceans that die, from natural causes or predators, do not wind up on land; most die far offshore and sink deep to become novel ecological zones known as whale fall. Some species that wash ashore are scientifically dolphins, i.e. members of the family Delphinidae, but for ease of use, this article treats them all as "drift whales". For example, one species notorious for mass strandings is the pilot whale, also known as "blackfish", which is taxonomically a dolphin.
  In historical sources, it is not always clear whether a given cetacean washed up alive or dead, but the term "drift whale" focuses on the benefits of its carcass – meat, blubber, fat, and other products – to the people who claimed it. Nowadays, when a dead whale washes up on a beach, often the authorities are required to dispose of it as a potential hazard to human health, so the resource implications go the other way: a drift whale is no longer a benefit to a community, but an expensive disadvantage.
context_section_description: Certain beaches are well known as likely spots for whales, and other gifts from the sea, to wash up: drift seeds, driftwood, and latterly sea glass and even messages in bottles. Modern recreational beachcombers use knowledge of how storms, geography, ocean currents, and seasonal events determine the arrival and exposure of rare finds; the same applies to those looking out for drift whales.
  Eponymous coastal features include Drift Whale Bay within Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park on the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island. Saint-Clément-des-Baleines on the Atlantic coast of France is named after its stranding beach.
caption: A sperm whale carcass serves as food for gulls and Arctic fox. Illustration from Animals in Action (1901).
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