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Description
A rather large, black delphinid with globose head, no beak, and a
bulbous swelling on the forehead in adults; dorsal fin far forward on
body, beginning about on plane with back of pectoral fins; pectoral fins
long and narrow, about 1/5 of body length; mouth oblique; teeth large,
about 10 mm in diameter, 20 mm high, conical, incurved, placed only in
anterior part of jaw, and numbering 8-10 in each tooth row. External
measurements: total length of male, 4.72 m; tip of snout to dorsal fin,
1.37 m; tip of snout to pectoral fin, 838 mm; length of pectoral fin, 864
mm; breadth of flukes, 1.07 m
Habits
Short-finned pilot whales may congregate in large numbers offshore —
schools of several hundred have been observed — but group size usually
ranges from 10 to 60. They are seen inshore at infrequent intervals and
occasionally become stranded by severe storms. In fact, these are among
the most frequently stranded of cetaceans, and often mass strand. These
dolphins have mass stranded 15 times in the Gulf of Mexico, although none
of these events occurred in Texas. Pilot whales are highly communicative
and make a variety of sounds, including noises described as "squealing,
whistling, loud smacking, whining, and snores." They probably are
excellent echo locators.
The food habits of pilot whales are not
well known. In the wild they feed on squid and fish; a captive whale
consumed 20 kg of squid per day. This particular whale showed no interest
in the fish fed to dolphins in the same tank.
Breeding and calving take place in
winter. Gestation lasts about 12 months. Calves are about 1.4 m long at
birth and weigh approximately 59 kg. Females are believed to give birth
only once every three years. |
