Mocha Dick

Mocha Dick was a famous Cachalot male which lived in the south of the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of the 19th century. He often attended water of the island Mocha, island coastal of the south of the Chile. Contrary to the majority of the cachalots, Mocha Dick was of white color, perhaps because of Albinisme. He was the inspirer of the whale Moby Dick in the novel éponyme of Hermann Melville in 1851

Mocha Dick was famous to have survived many harpoonings or attempts at harpoonings of hunters of whales (according to certain calculations, more than one hundred) before being finally killed. It was large and powerful, able to make sink small boats right with its fins. According to J.N. Reynolds, who gathered information of direct witnesses of Mocha Dick, the cachalot had a special method to blow: Instead off projecting his spout obliquely forward, and puffing with has shorts, convulsive effort, accompanied by has snorting noise, ace usual with his species, He flung the toilets from his nose in has lofty, perpendicular, expanded volume, distant At regular and somewhat intervals; its expulsion producing has continuous roar, like that off vapor struggling from the safety valve off has powerful steam engine.

Mocha Dick was covered by an enormous quantity of Pouce-pied S, much more than the normal for its species, giving him a rough aspect.

According to Reynolds, Mocha Dick was probably driven out first once before the year 1810 off the Mocha island. Its survival with the first harpoonings as its unusual appearance returned it quickly celebrates among the whalers of Nantucket. Many captains tried to drive out it after having circumvented the Cape Horn. It was flexible and friendly if it were not attacked, swimming sometimes along the ships. However, when it was attacked, it was capable of a great ferocity and to be very destroying and was thus fears among the harpooners.

External bonds

J.N. Reynolds: " Mocha Dick: or the white whale of Pacifique"
Moby Dick - Mocha Dick - Article
collision of whales with ships

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