Translation 2783

..... 220
on l'•tero f)od.a, As is the case t•r'itu bôw-head l•ri7ale:.;, fi;.hes have not
been r.i:corde(1 in thcir stot„a.cll contents.
'.t'iie probler.ls of teeir i:'eprâcluctive biolo^.;y nave been little
studied. .Ma.ting 1:akes place in the first half of tl,e year, ,;enerally
in snrin ;•, and gestation lasts for about a year. It is possible that
a femi:tile produces a calf every second year. At birth the calf is
about 4.5 metres long; the môtiser suckles it, probla.bly, for more than
six months. The fe:,:la1e a1.ways diligently J?ro tect;, i-ler calf. Tne
females attain sexual maturity wile.n t-cleir body lengtll is about 13 to
13.5 metres, and the males (taking sexual cii;:rorphisl,l into account)
-apparently when their body lènC,th is 12.5 to 13.0 ^I^etres.
The body is. very flexible, and. sometimes tiie::e i,rhales can
touch their tails witn tileir heads. ^iefore divinj; tiie;; el.lit :reveral
double-jet spouts, and of'ten display their flulces_ i'lrcy stay under
water for from 10 to 20 minutes, Uut can stay under for as much as
.an hour. They move slowly (,2-2.5 l.nots ), and double that rate only
when alarried.
North Atlantic ri{;ht whalés are heavily irrf.ested with whale
148
lice., Jrlll cll C,-'.il se e7:çrescenceû on t;i,e snout and lower jaw and around
tho uro8enital orifice, and to a lesser e?.tent with bai•nacles. 'i'heir
internal narasites have not been fully studied.,
l.orta f^tlantic rigllt t-rhal.es were hunted off tue coasts of
Europe as early as tire nintiz century. In titu 16t}-l celltuï'y a fleet
of sailin, :slii?^s hunted ti_em off Net'rfoundleuid.
Unrestricted killing
led to rapid r.eductior, i.n their nui,ibers, and in subsequent years the
nul;rber of tht:*;se whales killed fell off' shai'._o1y. ,'it to ùeE;inriin^
oâ'
the 20th century onl,y a few tens were tr7lten ar)Itually. tlunt.a.ng
of" tiiern is now totally prohibited, but the present status of t,leir
stocks is unknown.
Formerly a single North Atlantic r].gR't liliale yielded up to
15 or 16 tons of oil and up to 0.5-1.0 ton of' wiralebone.
llum ! )-•Uack 'tII)ale
1...__..._.^__.___ :te;;al)'Lera. __,.__...._.J n ot.io::ît,
In wâ.n'ter hw:I-0--1)a.clc whales of tku
,",tlc>I,tic llrrr.'(1 move
into tl^o7Acii.l r.lncl sui;tro t>ierr.l wa'te. r a tie-uti•rec:rl t.;aj,e berae. and Lhe Azore.s
i,see A' t)crlci i..: 16).
].actating, females and their ctclve;:: 1^,:talrii.n in that
fi7'E'n, from l EUI'1.1,1T;/ -1;0 LT, Ilr.lllf; tllC' ibrll. f^..Lü l)(:(;lI: to :IIOVC t0
117:1: Lic 1r71'tC L`. . "'^ 7. L1(:^:.l.ltl ] 1.( 01 ."Cl j (.i(llill) U1. ^IlCltl ll