Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick was inspired by a real albino sperm whale named Mocha Dick, who was known for attacking ships. Sperm whales are aggressive and Leviathan melvillei is named after Melville.
The inspiration for Herman Melville’s 1851 novel MoDick was based on a real albino sperm whale named Mocha Dick. During the growth of the whaling industry in the Americas in the mid-1800s, Mocha Dick gained a reputation as one of the most feared whales in the ocean. Mocha Dick has been reported to be docile when left alone, even swimming alongside ships. However, when provoked, the 70-foot (21,336 m) whale would become aggressive and attack ships with its body. During Mocha Dick’s 28-year hunt, he reportedly attacked 100 vessels, 20 of which were completely destroyed. Mocha was finally killed by whalers in 1838 near the Chilean Mocha Island after coming to the rescue of a female whale whose calf was killed by whalers.
Read more about whales:
As of 2014, a scientist is studying an albino humpback whale named Migaloo. Migaloo, which means “White Fella” in the Australian Aboriginal language, was first sighted in 1991 off the coast of Queensland in Australia.
Sperm whales are the most aggressive whale species and have been known to attack whaling ships and fight giant squid.
An extinct species of sperm whale that lived about 12 million years ago, Leviathan melvillei, is named after Herman Melville.
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