SCIENTIFIC NAME: Globicephala melas -- From the Latin globus (globe, ball) and the Greek kephale (head) and melanus (black).

COMMON NAME: Pilot Whale

DISCOVERED: Lesson, 1828

EXTERNAL ANATOMY:

Bulbous forehead (exaggerated in adult males)
Slate gray-black body with light markings on throat and belly
Short, imperceptible beak
Prominent, falcate dorsal fin
Elongated wedge shaped body
Long, sickle-shaped flippers
Size: 6.2 m, 3 tons (male); 5.4 m, 2-2.5 tons (female)

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:

Discontinous distribution with tropical waters separating the Southern hemisphere population from that of the northern North Atlantic
Temperate to subpolar distribution in all oceans except North Pacific
Abundant in North Atlantic and Southern hemisphere
Seasonal variation in migration patterns-some spend entire year offshore

NATURAL HISTORY:

HABITAT:

Cold temperate and subpolar waters
Found both inshore and offshore

FOOD & FEEDING:

Squid, octopus, cod and other fish

LIFE CYCLE:

Life Span: 40-50 years
Peak seasons for mating: spring/early summer
Calves are born in late summer after 16 month gestation period
Calving interval: 3 years
Nursing lasts 20 months
Sexual maturity at 12 years (male) and 6 years (female)

BEHAVIOR:

Travel in small groups of 4-6 individuals
At times hundreds up to thousands may gather
Tight groups while on move, loose when feeding
Methodical and unexpressive at surface (appear to be at "rest")
Sometimes hang vertically spyhopping or pitch-poling
Lobtailing is common
Do not ride bow waves
Tend to strand at times
Not particularly friendly
Deathly afraid of killer whales and will breach themselves to try to avoid avoid them

PILOT WHALE SONGS: The following .au file is a sample the song of the Pilot Whale.

Clicks [34k .au file]

WORLD POPULATION:

Unknown

HUMAN INFLUENCES:

Heavily exploited for meat and oil in North Atlantic, but still is fairly abundant
Threats: hunting/whaling, entanglement in fishing nets