27 SEPTEMBER 2008, Page 28

Mysterious whale?

Sir: It was refreshing to read Adam Nicolson’s review of Philip Hoare’s book Leviathan (Books, 20 September). Of course, the whale is no more gentle or mysterious than any other large animal. The minke whale (which you’ll find attractively packaged in any Norwegian supermarket) is no more intelligent — but far more numerous — than, say, the moose, and we shoot about 40,000 moose a year in Norway alone. As a famous Norwegian whaler (and MP) once put it: ‘Who’s to say that whales sing? Maybe they swear.’ Torvald Kambestad

Oslo, Norway