Translation 2783

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Soviet whalers too'` three pyv-'my right whales, including two pregnant
females, in Antarctic waters for the first time at the end. of 1970-
In Austa-ali a.n waters only a small movement northwar.d from
-a
their usual habitats, associated with breeding, has been observed.
An embryo was found in only one of the stranded sneciviens. It is
believeit that gestation lasts for about 12 months, and suckling of
the young for six or seven months (by a.nalocy with other tiahales) .
A characteristic feature found only in this whale is the
-oresence of a, narroi•r white st-ripe ru.nning along the whole upper jaw,
which is conspicuous when the whal e surfaces after diving. The
dorsal fin, which is about 15 to 20
cm tall, is bèhind the blo,•r--hole.
under water longer th-an other whales
'.1.'i-le pygmy right z•rha.le can stay
on account of the structure of its ribs (the ribs are not joined to
the sternum, and are flat). It i s surmised that the whale can lie
on the bottom for a long time, and therefore is seldom seen at sea.
pyts;my ri-,-ht t;riza,les are not hunted, and the status of their
stocks is unknown. During the last 80 years not more than 35 carcasses
of this s;lecies have been recorded as being tl=ros•rn up on the
coast, mostly on the island of Tasmania. The weight of a female 547
czl in length was 2.85 tons, and the weights of females 621 and 635
cm in length were 3.2 and 3.43 tons respectively,
rjurnn-back ':ihale (T'ie^^.ptera nodosa)
The migration routes of humU-back whales pass along the
coast-lines of the continents and are.therefore more easily studied,
which has made it possible to d.istingu.ish several local herds (see
Ap.iiendi x 16 and Table 9; .
it has sometimes been sui^gested that the hump-back whales
ISG
found off the coasts of Ara.bia, and 3eluchistan constitute an independent
herd. Individual specimens appear in the fattening--t;rounds
in October, but the majority arrive in )^ovember and. December. . tiur.lpback
,,!hales movin^, sout'nFrard have been observed at Porto Alexandre
(Angola j from the middle of August to the middle of hoveriber, at
Capetown from October onward, and at Durban in August; at Cloatos
Point (^^:'est Australia, 220 40' S, 1130 401 E) the first hu.,.p-back
On the east coast
wha.les a.-,;e recor.c:ed as early as tih^ end of July.
of l-ew Zea.laa7d %460 S) ,Zu.'in-back vhales are seen from the beginning