Translation 2783

Pygmy Blue - Whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda)
292
Little is known oe the migrations of pygmy.blue whales..
the southern hemisphere they are found in summer in the waters
between 40 0 and 50 0 S, where they remain until autumn. Early in
summer (at the beginning of December) separate groups approach the
Antarctic waters proper, being found ai 56 ° S, but later they return
to more northerly latitudes, and at the beginning of April they are
observed at 44 0 S. Their distribution in winter is unknown. It is
possible that at that season they are dispersed more widely, and
they are found off the coasts of Australia and South Africa.
In summûr they feed mainly on the small krill .uphausia
_ _ in the princial areas of concentration; sometimes they
varentini
feed on other species, in particular Parathemisto .gaudichaudi,
luring their migration into Antarctic waters they eat the ordinary
krill E, superba. Off the coas .tof South Africa in September they
feed on E. recurva and E. diomedeae, mostly . (up to 75.) on the former.
It is believed that a length of 19.2 metres may be the
borderline between sexually-immature and sexually-mature females.
The majority of males become sexually mature at a length of 16.7
metres.
Mating takes place in winter (possibly somewhat earlier than
with ordinary blue whales), but occasional cases of copulation have
also been'observed in summer.
The length of new-born calves is apparently about 6.5 metres.
Pygmy blue whales are less mobile than true blue whale s .
uhen escaping from a pursuing whaling vessel thûy dive and make off
in various directions, whereas ordinary blue whales move more quickly
and usually swim in a straight line.
After diving the pygmies stay on the surface for up to five
seconds and emit from three to eight spouts, 4-10 metres high. They
display their flukes in the air before diving.
These whales are taken together with ordinary blue whales
and other whales, and are not counted separately. In 1928-29 113
of them were taken in the Kerguelen Island regio .n .
he modern neriod of hunting for the began in 1959-60, when
jaT)anese whalers took the first 30 -ygmies, During the following
season 1,127 of 1tI wore tp.kcn: tJC 36 in 1961-62, and 714 in .