New Zealand - Whaling - Whaling in the Ross Sea - 1924 - By Captain George Samuel Hooper Whaling in New Zealand - Commercial whaling in New Zealand waters began late in the 18th century and continued until 1965. - It was a major economic activity for Europeans in New Zealand in the first four decades of the 19th century. - Nineteenth-century whaling was based on hunting the southern right whale and the sperm whale and 20th-century whaling concentrated on the humpback whale. - There is now an established industry for whale watching based in the South Island town of Kaikoura and at other ports in New Zealand. (Reference: Wikipedia) Whales in New Zealand - Almost half the world's whale and dolphin species are found in New Zealand. - Whales and dolphins belong to a group of animals called cetaceans. They can be divided into two families: - Toothed whales have teeth, though these may not always be obvious. These whales use sound waves in a method called echolocation to navigate and hunt for fish and squid. New Zealand examples include sperm whales, pilot whales and dolphins. - Baleen whales have plates of baleen suspended from the roof of their mouths, through which enormous quantities of krill are sucked from the water. These whales are generally larger than toothed whales and include the largest whale of all, the blue whale. New Zealand examples include humpback and Southern right whales. (Reference: read more at https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/marine-mammals/whales) --------------------- Image source: Whaling in the Ross Sea, 1924, Southern Ocean, by Captain George Samuel Hooper. Te Papa (B.077693) https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/1518345