We should not be far wrong if we guessed that he would need about a ton
of food every day. Where is he to get all that food? It is said that he
feeds mostly on the Cuttle-fish, that giant cousin of the Octopus, who
haunts the dim caverns of the deep. The Sperm is of enormous strength,
and is as fierce as he is strong. Otherwise he would not dare to face
the awful, clinging arms of the Cuttle, that ogre of the deep sea.

The Sperm Whale has a great, blunt head, a huge mouth, and a throat
large enough to swallow a man. His clumsy-looking head contains oil, so
does the deep layer of blubber with which his body is covered.

For the sake of this oil, the Sperm has always been hunted. But he is
not easily overcome. He fights hard for life; and many a whaling boat
has been dashed to pieces with one blow from the powerful tail of a
hunted Sperm.

This great tail is set cross-wise, not upright like the tail of a fish.
It is of immense power, and divided into two big "flukes," as they are
called. With strong up-and-down strokes the tail propels the monster
along at a great pace. It also shoots him down to his feeding place in
the depths of the sea, and up again to fill his lungs with sweet fresh
air. The fins, or paddles, are used only as balancers, and to protect
the young.

These Sperm Whales inhabit warm seas, but others of the Whale family
haunt colder regions. The greatest of these is the Right Whale, or
Greenland Whale, a monster whose bulk rivals that of the Sperm.

Now it is very strange that this, the largest member of the whole
kingdom of animals, should live on some of the smallest creatures of the