16
season than at any other period. The foetus is then usually in its first stages of development. I should add that it is generally during October and November that the largest number of female whales are taken round this Dependency, as they then seem to be more numerous than at any other time.
2. With regard to the possibility of being able to distinguish the female from the male or bull whale before capture, this seems to be of great uncertainty. If the weather is calm and the sea smooth it may be possible to do so. A whaler of some years' experience once told me that while hunting he could always tell a female humpback whale from the male by the fin, the female having a gracefully curved fin, while that of the male was
a stumpy curled fin." With regard to other whales, my informant told me that a good whaler might be able to tell the difference of sex by the shape of the head, but then the sea had to be very calm-a somewhat rare occurrence in these waters.
"
3. There is certainly no discrimination amongst the whalers even when they know the difference of sex, and female whales with a newly-born or young calf are deliberately hunted down and usually fall an easy prey to the hunter. The whaler knows well that the mother whale will not travel very fast, owing to her calf, whom she seldom-if ever-leaves, and he frequently takes advantage of this knowledge to kill the young calf first, not for its value, which is practically nil, but in order that he may the more easily capture the mother. When the young whale is killed the poor mother lingers alongside the vessel, and soon meets with the fate of her offspring. Such deliberate killing of mother and calf is of common occurrence, not only here, but, I am inclined to think, wherever whaling operations are carried on, and calls for future regulation. If it be impossible to identify the female whale when alone, there is no mistaking the mother whale with her calf.
The Honourable
27589
The Colonial Secretary, Falkland Islands.
I have, &c.,
J. INNES WILSON,
Stipendiary Magistrate.
No. 13.
FALKLAND ISLANDS.
THE STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE, SOUTH GEORGIA, to THE COLONIAL
SIR,
SECRETARY.
(Received in Colonial Office, 2 September, 1912.)
The Office of the Magistrate, South Georgia,
20th May, 1912.
I HAVE the honour to submit the following report, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, on the whaling operations at South Georgia during the half-year dating from the 1st October, 1911, to the 31st March, 1912-commonly known as the whaling season. (Enclosed Schedules A. and B.)
2. The past season has again been a most excellent one, the results exceeding those of the record season 1910-11. The largest number of whales were caught durirng the months of November, December, and January. The continual stormy nature of the weather during February and March often made whale hunting quite an impossibility.
3. During the six months under review, the record number of 5,681 whales (vide Schedule A.) have been taken from the waters off this Dependency, yielding in all 172,318 barrels of oil, valued approximately at £407,403, or a total weight of 29,109 tons of oil at a given average value of about £14 per ton, calculating each barrel to hold 172 kilos. If we include with the above the guano and baleen, the total approximate value of "the catch" realises £433,425 (I have given the exporter's valuation, but I personally think this is an under-estimate of at least 10 per cent.) When compared with the same period of 1910-11, this shows an increase of 160 whales and 21,861 barrels of oil, or a total increase in valuation of £19,073.
4.
From seven companies engaged in the whale fishery of the Dependency there have been employed in all 21 licensed steam whalers, or two more than last season, namely those of the Southern Whaling and Sealing Company, Limited, which arrived in January. Each boat has had an average catch of 270 whales, or over 10 whales each per week during a period of six months. When compared with
last year t
connection Southern catch up t
boat of th
5. T
two floatin 44 Messrs
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tracted fre
6. 0
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19
1!
This s will be obta company a
7. Gr Schedule B a cutting u Company Sealing Co the whole v have now 3,500 bags.
from their
guano from
The fo
whale by th
33200
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