KILLER INSTINCT A sperm whale slams into its pursuers in this c1875 print – the titanic cetaceans were among the most dangerous prey for their hunters
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THE ESSEX AND THE WHALE
Owen Chase – First Mate on a 27-metre whaling vessel, THE Essex – was in the midst of the Pacific on the morning of 20 November 1820, when he spotted an unusually large sperm whale acting strangely. The whale, which the First Mate later estimated to be some 85 feet long 26 metres), was at the surface, its head half clear of the water, seemingly eyeballing The Essex.