Long finned pilot whale

Globicephala melas

Key Facts

Size: 4- 6 metres

Range: Cold temperate and sub-polar North Atlantic and Southern Ocean

Threats: Hunting / whaling

Diet: Squid or octopus and schooling fish

Physical Description

Globicephala means round-headed and the long-finned pilot whale has a very distinctive, rounded, bulbous forehead. They used to be called “potheads” by whalers and this large forehead overhangs the beak particularly in older males. The body is sturdy and has a thickened tail stock and a prominent dorsal fin. This dorsal fin is deeply concave and low but is half way down the body and raised up. The tail flukes are notched and have sharply pointed tips. As the name suggests, this type of pilot whale has very long slender pectoral fins, positioned near the head and with a marked “elbow”. Very closely related is the short-finned pilot whale which has shorter fins but it is very difficult to tell the two apart especially since their ranges overlap. Both are black or dark grey with a paler underside and a greyish white throat and a grey or white diagonal stripe behind each eye.

Distribution

Long-finned pilot whales inhabit cold temperate to sub-polar waters in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, except in the North Pacific. They used to be found in the North Pacific as well but have completely disappeared from this area. The north and south populations are widely separated by the warm tropical waters and are sometimes considered two separate sub-species. Both prefer deep water but migrate to follow the squid populations.

Behaviour

The long-finned pilot whales usually travel in groups of 10 – 50 and sometimes up to 100 or more. Occasionally super-pods of thousands of these whales are seen together. They have a strong blow about 1 metre high which is easily visible and they tend to take a few short breaths before making a longer dive for about 10 minutes which may as deep as 600 metres. Pilot whales will bow ride and have been seen lob-tailing and spy-hopping. Young pilot whales will sometimes breach but this is rarely observed in adults.

Breeding

The male’s dorsal fin is relatively upright whereas the female’s is more bulbous. Males are also much larger than the females and the calves are about 1.9 metres at birth. Little is known about their reproduction.

Feeding

Their diet consists of squid and small octopus but has been known to feed on schooling fish as well.

Current Situation

The long-finned pilot whale has been heavily exploited over the centuries but is still fairly abundant. Its numbers are insufficiently known but it is extinct in the North Pacific and it is still hunted in the North Atlantic.

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