ON THE FEEDING OF SPERM WHALES (PHYSETER CATODON) IN THE BERING SEA
The problem of the feeding of sperm whales in the Bering Sea—near Kamchatka, at the Commander Islands, and in the Olutorsky Bay—has been discussed in literature by A. G. Tomilin (1936) and B. A. Zenkovich (1937) on the basis of the analysis of stomach contents of sperm whales killed during the thirt...
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| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.595.7044 http://www.paleoglot.org/files/Berzin 59.pdf |
| Summary: | The problem of the feeding of sperm whales in the Bering Sea—near Kamchatka, at the Commander Islands, and in the Olutorsky Bay—has been discussed in literature by A. G. Tomilin (1936) and B. A. Zenkovich (1937) on the basis of the analysis of stomach contents of sperm whales killed during the thirties by the whaling flotilla named “Aleut.” Those years, the main objects of exploitation were the fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), while the yearly harvest of sperm whales amounted to 57–113 animals (1936). At present, the flotilla annually harvests up to 1,170 sperm whales (1957), a quantity that constitutes 87 % of the total take. Throughout the last 10 years, the areas of exploitation have also been changed. In former years, one of the main areas was the Southern (the Kronotsky Bay, the areas near the Morzhevaya Bay, and at the Kozlov and the Shipunsky Capes), whereas now the main areas, besides the Commander Islands, are the Blizhny Straits, Attu Island, as well as the waters washing the northern side of the Islands (up to |
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