THE SOUTH AMERICAN TAPIR

 

The South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi tapi'ira), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, in Portuguese anta, and in mixed Quechua and Spanish sachavaca (literally "bushcow"), is one of the four widely recognized species in the tapir family, along with the mountain tapir, the Malayan tapir, and the Baird's tapir.^[2] It is the largest surviving native terrestrial mammal in the Amazon.^[3]

Most classifications systems include Tapirus kabomani (also known as the little black tapir or kabomani tapir), a disputed species, as part of Tapirus terrestris. The specific epithet derives from arabo kabomani, the word for tapir in the local Paumarí language. The formal description of this tapir did not suggest a common name for the species.^[4] The Karitiana tribe call this the little black tapir.^[5] It is the smallest tapir species, even smaller than the mountain tapir (T. pinchaque), which had been considered the smallest. T. kabomani is found in the Amazon rainforest, where it appears to be sympatric with the South American tapir (T. terrestris). When it was announced in December 2013, T. kabomani was the first odd-toed ungulate discovered in over 100 years. However, T. kabomani has not been recognized by the Tapir Specialist Group as a distinct species and recent genetic evidence further suggests it is actually nested within T. terrestris.^[6][7]

  Cristalino River, Brazil

Appearance

 

T. terrestris is dark brown, paler in the face, and has a low, erect crest running from the crown down the back of the neck. The round, dark ears have distinctive white edges. Newborn tapirs have a dark brown coat, with small white spots and stripes along the body. The South American tapir can attain a body length of 1.8 to 2.5 m (5.9 to 8.2 ft) with a 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to 3.9 in) short stubby tail and an average weight around 225 kg (496 lb). Adult weight has been reported ranging from 150 to 320 kg (330 to 710 lb). It stands somewhere between 77 to 108 cm (30 to 43 in) at the shoulder.^[8]

Features claimed for Tapirus kabomani

 

With an estimated mass of only 110 kg (240 lb), T. kabomani is the smallest living tapir.^[4] For comparison, the mountain tapir has a mass between 136 and 250 kg (300 and 551 lb).^{[9][10][11][12]} Tapirus kabomani is roughly 130 centimetres (51 in) long and 90 centimetres (35 in) in shoulder height.^[4]

It has a distinct phenotype from other members of the species. It can be differentiated by its coloration: it is a range of darker grey to brown than other T. terrestris strains.^[4] This species also features relatively short legs for a tapir caused by a femur length that is shorter than dentary length.^[4] The crest is smaller and less prominent.^[5] T. kabomani also seems to exhibit some level of sexual dimorphism as females tend to be larger than males and possess a characteristic patch of light hair on their throats. The patch extends from the chin up to the ear and down to the base of the neck.^[4]

Head and skull attributes are also important in identification of this species. This tapir possesses a single, narrow, low and gently inclined sagittal crest that rises posteriorly from the toothrow.^[4] T. kabomani skulls also lack both a nasal septum and dorsal maxillary flanges.^[4] The skull possesses a meatal diverticulum fossa that is shallower and less dorsally extended than those of the other four extant species of tapir.^[4]

 

Geographic range

 

The South American tapir can be found near water in the Amazon Rainforest and River Basin in South America, east of the Andes. Its geographic range stretches from Venezuela, Colombia, and the Guianas in the north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay in the south, to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador in the west.^[13] On rare occasions, waifs have crossed the narrow sea channel from Venezuela to the southern coast of the island of Trinidad (but no breeding population exists there).

Tapirus kabomani is restricted to South America. It is found in habitats consisting of a mosaic of forest and savannah.^[4] It has been collected in southern Amazonas (the type locality), Rondônia, and Mato Grosso states in Brazil. The species is also believed to be present in Amazonas department in Colombia, and it may be present in Amapá, Brazil, in north Bolivia^[14] and in southern French Guiana.^[5]

Behavior

 

T. terrestris is an excellent swimmer and diver, but also moves quickly on land, even over rugged, mountainous terrain. It has a life span of approximately 25 to 30 years. In the wild, its main predators are crocodilians (only the black caiman and Orinoco crocodile, the latter of which is critically endangered, are large enough to take these tapirs, as the American crocodile only exists in the northern part of South America) and large cats, such as the jaguar and cougar, which often attack tapirs at night when tapirs leave the water and sleep on the riverbank. The South American tapir is also attacked by the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus). T. terrestris is known to run to water when scared to take cover.

There is a need for more research to better explore social interactions.^[15]

 

Diet

A South American tapir browsing leaves at Pouso Alegre, Transpantaneira, Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

The South American tapir is an herbivore. Using its mobile nose, it feeds on leaves, buds, shoots, and small branches it tears from trees, fruit, grasses, and aquatic plants. They also feed on the vast majority of seeds found in the rainforest.^[16] This is known because the diet is studied through observation of browsing, analysis of feces, and studying stomach contents.^[17]

Although it has been determined via fecal samples that T. kabomani feeds on palm tree leaves and seeds from the genera Attalea and Astrocaryum, much about the diet and ecology of T. kabomani is unknown.^[4] Previously discovered tapirs are known to be important seed disperses and to play key roles in the rainforest or mountain ecosystems in which they occur.^[4] It is possible that T. kabomani shares this role with the other members of its genus although further research is required.

 

Mating

A calf of the South American tapir.

T. terrestris mates in April, May, or June, reaching sexual maturity in the third year of life. Females go through a gestation period of 13 months (390–395 days) and will typically have one offspring every two years. A newborn South American tapir weighs about 15 pounds (6.8 kilos) and will be weaned in about six months.

 

Endangered status

 

The dwindling numbers of the South American tapir are due to poaching for meat and hide, as well as habitat destruction. T. terrestris is generally recognized as an endangered animal species, with the species being designated as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on June 2, 1970.^[18] It has a significantly lower risk of extinction, though, than the other four tapir species.

 

Conservation of T. kabomani

 

The species may be relatively common in forest-savanna mosaic habitat (relicts of former cerrado). Nevertheless, the species is threatened by prospects of future habitat loss related to deforestation, development and expanding human populations.^[4]

While this tapir does not seem to be rare in the upper Madeira River region of the southwestern Brazilian Amazon,^[4] its precise conservation status is unknown. T. kabomani is limited by its habitat preference and tends not to be found where its preferred mosaic gives way to either pure savannah or forest.^[4] This, in combination with the fact that other less restricted tapir species within the area are already classified as endangered, has led scientists to hypothesize that the new species is likely to prove more endangered than other members of its genus.^[5] Human population growth and deforestation within southwestern Amazonia threaten T. kabomani through habitat destruction.^[4] The creation of infrastructure such as roads as well as two dams planned for the area as of December 2013 further threaten to considerably alter the home range.^[5] Hunting is also a concern. The Karitiana tribe, a group of people indigenous to the area, regularly hunt the tapir.^[5] Additional threats exist from crocodilians and jaguars, natural predators of tapirs within the area.^[19]

Humans aside, the region of the Amazon in which T. kabomani is found has also been highlighted as an area that is likely to be particularly susceptible to global warming and the ecosystem changes it brings.^[4]

History of classification

 

Although it was not formally described until 2013, the possibility that T. kabomani might be a distinct species had been suggested as early as 100 years prior. The first specimen recognized as a member of this species was collected on the Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition. Theodore Roosevelt (1914) believed they had collected a new species,^[20] as local hunters recognized two types of tapir in the region^[20] and another member of the expedition, Leo E. Miller, suggested that two species were present.^[a] Nevertheless, though observed by experts, all tapirs from the expedition have been consistently treated as T. terrestris,^[21][22] including specimen AMNH 36661, which is now identified as T. kabomani.^[4] Ten years before T. kabomani was formally described, scientists suspected the existence of a new species while examining skulls that did not resemble the skulls of known tapir species.^[23] When the species was formally described in December 2013,^[4] it was the first tapir species described since T. bairdii in 1865.^[5]

 

Relationships

 

In both morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses,^[4] T. kabomani was recovered as the first diverging of the three tapirs restricted to South America. Morphological analysis suggested that the closest relative of T. kabomani may be the extinct species T. rondoniensis.^[4] Molecular dating methods based on three mitochondrial cytochrome genes gave an approximate divergence time of 0.5 Ma for T. kabomani and the T. terrestris–T. pinchaque clade, while T. pinchaque was found to have arisen within a paraphyletic T. terrestris complex much more recently (in comparison, the split between T. bairdii and the tapirs restricted to South America took place around 5 Ma ago).^[4]

Tapirus	T. bairdii (Baird's tapir)        T. kabomani (little black tapir)        T. terrestris (South American tapir, Ecuador cluster)      T. pinchaque (mountain tapir)      T. terrestris (South American tapir, other clusters)            T. indicus (Malayan tapir)

 

Controversy

 

The validity of the species, and whether or not it can be reliably distinguished from the South American tapir, has subsequently been questioned on both morphological and genetic grounds. Morphological differences between the two species of tapir are noted to be especially difficult to discern in photographs allegedly depicting T. kabomani and noted to be only qualitatively described in the original literature.^[24] Morphologically, lack of published numerical ranges for diagnostic differences make it incredibly difficult for individuals to be identified in the field as little black tapirs instead of South American tapirs. A heavy reliance upon the indigenous people for identification of T. kabomani was also noted in the major dissenting article. Concerns were cited regarding the reliability of information when it is gathered from locals as, while they are frequently aware of many more species in an area, they can sometimes describe haplotypes of culturally important species to be entirely different species.^[24]

Genetic evidence has been questioned on similar grounds. Several examined genetic sequences said to be characteristic for the species, most notably the Cyth sequence of cytochrome b, have been described as minimally divergent from those of other South American tapirs.^[24] Further analyses of cytochrome b sequences did reveal a clade allegedly belonging to T. kabomani, however, it was described to be only as divergent as some haplotype found in other species.^[24] Mitochondrial DNA originally connected to morphological traits and used to describe the species has also been called into question. Although several samples of T. kabomani have been obtained, only the two samples from southwestern Amazonia were analysed while those obtained in the northwest were not.^[24] The connection between the morphology and DNA of supposed T. kabomani in northwestern areas is unknown and there is the possibility that the correlation between mtDNA and morphology is insufficiently supported.^[24]

However, besides cytochrome b, two other mitochondrial genes were analyzed, COI and COII, both showing the same pattern found for cytochrome b.^[25] Several other objections raised against the distinction of T. kabomani from T. terrestris, including external and internal morphological characters, statistical analysis, distribution and use of folk taxonomy, were addressed in Cozzuol et al (2014).^[25]

Further genetic evidence invalidating T. kabomani as a new species was published by Ruiz-Garcia et al. (2016).^[6] Ruiz-Garcia et al. found and sampled tapirs that fit the morphological description provided by Cozzuol et al. (2013) for T. kabomani but they only showed haplotypes of other T. terrestris haplogroups.^[6] In addition, the morphological evidence for T. kabomani has been contradicted by further research.^[26] Dumbá et al. reevaluated skull shape variation among tapir species and found that T. kabomani and T. terrestris exhibit considerable overlap in skull morphology, though it could still be distinguished by its broad forehead.^[26]

Gallery

 

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  Young South American tapir at the Dortmund Zoo.

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  South American tapir in northern Peru.

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  South American tapir performing the Flehmen response. 

   

   

   

   

    

  Binomial name

   

   Tapirus terrestris
  

  (Linnaeus, 1758)

   

   

  South American tapir distribution

  
  

    Extinct   Extant   Probably extant
  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

THE PILOT WHALE

 

Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. The two extant species are the long-finned pilot whale (G. melas) and the short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus). The two are not readily distinguishable at sea, and analysis of the skulls is the best way to distinguish between the species. Between the two species, they range nearly worldwide, with long-finned pilot whales living in colder waters and short-finned pilot whales living in tropical and subtropical waters. Pilot whales are among the largest of the oceanic dolphins, exceeded in size only by the orca. They and other large members of the dolphin family are also known as blackfish.

Pilot whales feed primarily on squid, but will also hunt large demersal fish such as cod and turbot. They are highly social and may remain with their birth pod throughout their lifetime. Short-finned pilot whales are one of the few mammal species in which females go through menopause, and postreproductive females continue to contribute to their pod. Pilot whales are notorious for stranding themselves on beaches, but the reason behind this is not fully understood. The conservation status of short-finned and long-finned pilot whales has been determined to be least concern.

Naming

 

The animals were named "pilot whales" because pods were believed to be "piloted" by a leader.^[2][3] They are also called "pothead whales" and "blackfish". The genus name is a combination of the Latin word globus ("round ball" or "globe") and the Greek word kephale ("head").^[2][3]

 

Taxonomy and evolution

Jaw of the extinct species Globicephala etruriae

Pilot whales are classified into two species; the long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) and the short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus) The short-finned pilot whale was described, from skeletal materials only, by John Edward Gray in 1846. He presumed from the skeleton that the whale had a large beak. The long-finned pilot whale was first classified by Thomas Stewart Traill in 1809 as Delphinus melas.^[4] Its scientific name was eventually changed to Globicephala melaena. Since 1986, the specific name of the long-finned pilot whale was changed to its original form melas.^[5] Other species classifications have been proposed but only two have been accepted.^[6] There exist geographic forms of short-finned pilot whales off the east coast of Japan,^[7] which comprise genetically isolated stocks.^[8]

Fossils of an extinct relative, Globicephala baereckeii, have been found in Pleistocene deposits in Florida.^[2] Another Globicephala dolphin was discovered in Pliocene strata in Tuscany, Italy, and was named G. etruriae.^[2] Evolution of Tappanaga, the endemic, larger form of short-finned pilots found in northern Japan, with similar characteristics to the whales found along Vancouver Island and northern USA coasts,^[9] have been indicated that the geniture of this form could be caused by the extinction of long-finned pilots in north Pacific in the 12th century where Magondou, the smaller, southern type possibly filled the former niches of long-finned pilots, adapting and colonizing into colder waters.^[10]

 

Description

Pilot whales are mostly dark grey, brown, or black, but have some light areas such as a grey saddle patch behind the dorsal fin.^[3] Other light areas are an anchor-shaped patch under the chin, a faint blaze marking behind the eye, a large marking on the belly, and a genital patch.^[3] The dorsal fin is set forward on the back and sweeps backwards. A pilot whale is more robust than most dolphins, and has a distinctive large, bulbous melon.^[3] Pilot whales' long, sickle-shaped flippers and tail stocks are flattened from side to side.^[3] Male long-finned pilot whales develop more circular melons than females,^[3] although this does not seem to be the case for short-finned pilot whales off the Pacific coast of Japan.^[11]

A pilot whale spyhopping

Long-finned and short-finned pilot whales are so similar, it is difficult to tell the two species apart.^[2] They were traditionally differentiated by the length of the pectoral flippers relative to total body length and the number of teeth.^[6] The long-finned pilot whale was thought to have 9–12 teeth in each row and flippers one-fifth of total body length, compared to the short-finned pilot whale with its 7–9 teeth in each row and flippers one-sixth of total body length.^[3] Studies of whales in the Atlantic showed much overlap in these characteristics between the species, making them clines instead of distinctive features.^[3] Thus, biologists have since used skull differences to distinguish the two species.^[2][3]

The size and weight depend on the species, as long-finned pilot whales are generally larger than short-finned pilot whales.^[11][12] Their lifespans are about 45 years in males and 60 years in females for both species. Both species exhibit sexual dimorphism. Adult long-finned pilot whales reach a body length of approximately 6.5 m, with males being 1 m longer than females.^[13] Their body mass reaches up to 1,300 kg in females and up to 2,300 kg in males.^[14] For short-finned pilot whales, adult females reach a body length of about 5.5 m, while males reach 7.2 m and may weigh up to 3,200 kg.^[14]

 

Distribution and habitat

Pilot whale in the Gulf of California

Pilot whales can be found in oceans nearly worldwide, but data about current population sizes is deficient. The long-finned pilot whale prefers slightly cooler waters than the short-finned, and is divided into two populations. The smaller group is found in a circumpolar band in the Southern Ocean from about 20 to 65°S. It may be sighted off the coasts of Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.^[15] An estimated more than 200,000 individuals were in this population in 2006. The second, much larger, population inhabits the North Atlantic Ocean, in a band from South Carolina in the United States across to the Azores and Morocco at its southern edge and from Newfoundland to Greenland, Iceland, and northern Norway at its northern limit. This population was estimated at 778,000 individuals in 1989. It is also present in the western half of the Mediterranean Sea.^[15]

The short-finned pilot whale is less populous. It is found in temperate and tropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.^[16] Its population overlaps slightly with the long-finned pilot whale in the temperate waters of the North Atlantic and Southern Oceans.^[2] About 150,000 individuals are found in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. More than 30,000 animals are estimated in the western Pacific, off the coast of Japan. Pilot whales are generally nomadic, but some populations stay year-round in places such as Hawaii and parts of California.^[2] They prefer the waters of the shelf break and slope.^[2] Once commonly seen off of Southern California, short-finned pilot whales disappeared from the area after a strong El Niño year in the early 1980s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.^[17] In October 2014, crew and passengers on several boats spotted a pod of 50–200 off Dana Point, California.^[17]

Behavior and life history

 

Foraging and parasites

Pilot whales near Cape Breton Island

Although pilot whales are not known to have many predators, possible threats come from humans and killer whales. Both species eat primarily squid.^[18] The whales make seasonal inshore and offshore movements in response to the dispersal of their prey.^[2] Fish that are consumed include Atlantic cod, Greenland turbot, Atlantic mackerel, Atlantic herring, hake, and spiny dogfish in the northwest Atlantic.^[2] In the Faroe Islands, whales mostly eat squid, but will also eat fish species such as greater argentine and blue whiting. However, Faroe whales do not seem to feed on cod, herring, or mackerel even when they are abundant.^[19]

Pilot whales generally take several breaths before diving for a few minutes. Feeding dives may last over ten minutes. They are capable of diving to depths of 600 meters, but most dives are to a depth of 30–60 m. Shallow dives tend to take place during the day, while deeper ones take place at night. When making deep dives, pilot whales often make fast sprints to catch fast-moving prey such as squid.^[20] Compared to sperm whales and beaked whales, foraging short-finned pilot whales are more energetic at the same depth. When they reach the end of their dives, pilot whales will sprint, possibly to catch prey, and then make a few buzzes.^[20] This is unusual considering deep-diving, breath-holding animals would be expected to swim slowly to conserve oxygen. The animal's high metabolism possibly allows it to sprint at deep depths, which would also give it shorter diving periods than some other marine mammals.^[20] This may also be the case for long-finned pilot whales.^[21]

Pilot whales are often infested with whale lice, cestodes, and nematodes.^[3] They also can be hosts to various pathogenic bacteria and viruses, such as Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Escherichia, Staphylococcus, and influenza.^[3] One sample of Newfoundland pilot whales found the most common illness was an upper respiratory tract infection.^[22]

 

Social structure

Pilot whale pod near Ireland

Both species live in groups of 10–30, but some groups may number 100 or more. Data suggest the social structures of pilot whale pods are similar to those of "resident" killer whales. The pods are highly stable and the members have close matrilineal relationships.^[2] Pod members are of various age and sex classes, although adult females tend to outnumber adult males. They have been observed making various kin-directed behaviors, such as providing food.^[23] Numerous pods will temporarily gather, perhaps to allow individuals from different pods to interact and mate,^[3] as well as provide protection.^[12]

Both species are loosely polygynous.^[12] Data suggest both males and females remain in their mother's pod for life; despite this, inbreeding within a pod does not seem to occur.^[3] During aggregations, males will temporarily leave their pods to mate with females from other pods.^[24] Male reproductive dominance or competition for mates does not seem to exist.^[25] After mating, a male pilot whale usually spends only a few months with a female, and an individual may sire several offspring in the same pod.^[26] Males return to their own pods when the aggregations disband, and their presence may contribute to the survival of the other pod members.^[24] No evidence of "bachelor" groups has been found.^[12][24]

Pilot whale mother and calf near Kona, Hawaii

Pilot whale pods off southern California have been observed in three different groups: traveling/hunting groups, feeding groups and loafing groups.^[27] In traveling/hunting groups, individuals position themselves in chorus lines stretching two miles long, with only a few whales underneath.^[28] Sexual and age-class segregation apparently occurs in these groups.^[27] In feeding groups, individuals are very loosely associated, but may move in the same direction.^[27] In loafing groups, whales number between 12 and 30 individuals resting. Mating and other behaviors may take place.^[27]

 

Reproduction and lifecycle

 

Pilot whales have one of the longest birth intervals of the cetaceans,^[2] calving once every three to five years. Most matings and calvings occur during the summer for long-finned pilot whales.^[29] For short-finned pilot whales of the Southern Hemisphere, births are at their highest in spring and autumn, while in Northern Hemisphere, the time in which calving peaks can vary by population.^[29] For long-finned pilot whales, gestation lasts 12–16 months, and short-finned pilot whales have a 15-month gestation period.^[2]

The calf nurses for 36–42 months, allowing for extensive mother-calf bonds.^[2] Young pilot whales will take milk until as old as 13–15 years of age. Short-finned pilot whale females will go through menopause,^[30] but this is not as common in females of long-finned pilot whales.^[31] Postreproductive females possibly play important roles in the survival of the young.^[23][32] Postreproductive females will continue to lactate and nurse young. Since they can no longer bear young of their own, these females invest in the current young, allowing them to feed even though they are not their own.^[2] Short-finned pilot whales grow more slowly than long-finned pilot whales. For the short-finned pilot whale, females become sexually mature at 9 years old and males at about 13–16 years.^[2] For the long-finned pilot whale, females reach maturity at around eight years and males at around 12 years.^[2]

 

Vocalizations

	Pilot whale calls (0:37) Menu 0:00 Songs of long-finned pilot whales: The cracking noise is caused by echolocation.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Pilot whales emit echolocation clicks for foraging and whistles and burst pulses as social signals (e.g. to keep contact with members of their pod). With active behavior, vocalizations are more complex, while less-active behavior is accompanied by simple vocalizations. Differences have been found in the calls of the two species.^[33] Compared with short-finned pilot whales, long-finned pilot whales have relatively low-frequency calls with narrow frequency ranges.^[33] In one study of North Atlantic long-finned pilot whales, certain vocalizations were heard to accompany certain behaviors.^[34] When resting or "milling", simple whistles are emitted.^[34] Surfacing behavior is accompanied by more complex whistles and pulsed sounds.^[34] The number of whistles made increases with the number of subgroups and the distance in which the whales are spread apart.^[34]

Volunteers attempt to keep body temperatures of beached pilot whales from rising at Farewell Spit, New Zealand.

A study of short-finned pilot whales off the southwest coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands has found the members of a pod maintained contact with each other through call repertoires unique to their pod.^[35] A later study found, when foraging at around 800 m deep, short-finned pilot whales make tonal calls.^[36] The number and length of the calls seem to decrease with depth despite being farther away from conspecifics at the surface. As such, the surrounding water pressure affects the energy of the calls, but it does not appear to affect the frequency levels.^[36]

When in stressful situations, pilot whales produce "shrills" or "plaintive cries", which are variations of their whistles.^[37] To elude predators, long-finned Pilot whales off the southern coast of Australia have been observed to mimic the calls of orcas while scavenging for food. This behaviour is thought to deter orca pods from approaching the Pilot whales.^[38]

 

Stranding

 

Of the cetaceans, pilot whales are among the most common stranders.^[39] Because of their strong social bonds, whole groups of pilot whales will strand. Single stranders have been recorded and these are usually diseased.^[2] Group stranding tends to be of mostly healthy individuals. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain group strandings.^[2] When using magnetic fields for navigation, the whales have been suggested to get perplexed by geomagnetic anomalies or they may be following a sick member of their group that got stranded.^[2] The pod also may be following a member of high importance that got stranded and a secondary social response makes them keep returning.^[3] Researchers from New Zealand have successfully used secondary social responses to keep a stranding pod of long-finned pilot whales from returning to the beach.^[40] In addition, the young members of the pod were taken offshore to buoys, and their distress calls lured the older whales back out to sea.^[40]

 

Human interaction

The IUCN lists long-finned pilot whales as "least concern" in the Red List of Threatened Species. Long-finned pilot whales in the North and Baltic Seas are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Those from northwest and northeast Atlantic may also need to be included to Appendix II of CMS.^[15] The short-finned pilot whale is listed on Appendix II of CITES.^[16]

 

Hunting

Killed pilot whales in Hvalba, Faroe Islands

See also: Whaling in the Faroe Islands

The long-finned pilot whale has traditionally been hunted by "driving", which involves many hunters and boats gathering in a semicircle behind a pod of whales close to shore, and slowly driving them towards a bay, where they become stranded and are then slaughtered. This practice was common in both the 19th and 20th centuries. The whales were hunted for bone, meat, oil, and fertilizer. In the Faroe Islands, pilot whale hunting started at least in the 16th century,^[3] and continued into modern times, with thousands being killed during the 1970s and 1980s.^[41][42] In other parts of the North Atlantic, such as Norway, West Greenland, Ireland and Cape Cod, pilot whales have also been hunted, but to a lesser extent.^[43][44] One fishery at Cape Cod harvested 2,000–3,000 whales per year during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^[45] Newfoundland's long-finned pilot whale fishery was at its highest in 1956, but declined shortly after^[41] and is now defunct. In the Southern Hemisphere, exploitation of long-finned pilot whales has been sporadic and low.^[41] Currently, long-finned pilot whales are only hunted at the Faroe Islands and Greenland.^[15]

According to the IUCN the harvesting of this species for food in the Faroe Islands and Greenland has not resulted in any detectable declines in abundance.^[46]

The short-finned pilot whale has also been hunted for many centuries, particularly by Japanese whalers. Between 1948 and 1980, hundreds of whales were exploited at Hokkaido and Sanriku in the north and Taiji, Izu, and Okinawa in the south.^[12] These fisheries were at their highest in the late 1940s and early 1950s;^[12] 2,326 short-finned pilot whales were harvested in the mid- to late 1980s.^[16] This had decreased to about 400 per year by the 1990s.

Pilot whales have also fallen victim to bycatches. In one year, around 30 short-finned pilot whales were caught by the squid round-haul fishery in southern California.^[47] Likewise, California's drift gill net fishery took around 20 whales a year in the mid-1990s.^[3] In 1988, 141 whales caught on the east coast of the U.S. were taken by the foreign Atlantic mackerel fishery, which forced it to be shut down.^[3]

Bubbles, the pilot whale, performing at Marineland of the Pacific, 1962

Pollution

 

As with other marine mammals, pilot whales are susceptible to certain pollutants. Off the Faroes, France, the UK, and the eastern US, pilot whales were found to have been contaminated with high amounts of DDT and PCB.^[3] Pollutants such as DDT and mercury can be passed from mothers to their babies during gestation and lactation.^[48] The Faroes whales have also been contaminated with cadmium and mercury.^[49] However, pilot whales from Newfoundland and Tasmania were found to have had very low levels of DDT.^[3] Short-finned pilot whales off the west coast of the US have had high amounts of DDT and PCB in contrast to the low amounts found in whales from Japan and the Antilles.^[3]

 

Cuisine

 

Pilot whale meat is available for consumption in very few areas of Japan, mainly along the central Pacific coast, and also in other areas of the world, such as the Faroe Islands. The meat is high in protein (higher than beef) and low in fat.^[50] Because a whale's fat is contained in the layer of blubber beneath the skin, and the muscle is high in myoglobin, the meat is a dark shade of red.^[50][51] In Japan, where pilot whale meat can be found in certain restaurants and izakayas, the meat is sometimes served raw, as sashimi, but just as often pilot whale steaks are marinated, cut into small chunks, and grilled.^[51] When grilled, the meat is slightly flaky and quite flavorful, somewhat gamey, though similar to a quality cut of beef, with distinct yet subtle undertones recalling its marine origin.^[50][51][52]

In both Japan and the Faroe Islands, the meat is contaminated with mercury and cadmium, causing a health risk for those who frequently eat it, especially children and pregnant women.^[53] In November 2008, an article in New Scientist reported that research done on the Faroe Islands resulted in two chief medical officers recommending against the consumption of pilot whale meat, considering it to be too toxic.^[54] In 2008, the local authorities recommended that pilot whale meat should no longer be eaten due to the contamination. This has resulted in reduced consumption, according to a senior Faroese health official.^[55]

 

Captivity

 

Pilot whales, mostly short-finned pilot whales, have been kept in captivity in various marine parks, arguably starting in the late 1940s.^[56] Since 1973, some long-finned pilot whales from New England waters were taken and temporarily kept in captivity.^[57] Short-finned pilot whales off southern California, Hawaii and Japan have been kept in aquariums and oceanariums. Several pilot whales from southern California and Hawaii were taken into captivity during the 1960s and early 1970s,^[57][58] two of which were placed at SeaWorld in San Diego. During the 1970s and early 1980s, six pilot whales were captured alive by drive hunts and taken for public display.^[3] Pilot whales have historically had low survival rates in captivity, with the average annual survival being 0.51 during the mid-1960s to early 1970s.^[58] There have been a few exceptions to the rule. Bubbles, a female short-finned pilot whale, who was displayed in Marineland of the Pacific and eventually at Sea World California, lived to be somewhere in her 50s when she eventually died on 12 June 2016.^[59] In 1968, a pilot whale named Morgan was captured and trained by the Navy's Deep Ops to retrieve deeper-attached objects from the ocean floor. He dove a record depth of 1654 feet and was used for training until 1971.^[60]

 

Cinematography

 

 

There are two documentaries entirely dedicated to the pilot whales.

• Full-length Cheetahs of the deep (49’, 2014, directed by Rafa Herrero Massieu^[61]) — tells about the way of life, features of social interaction, the subtleties of hunting, games and breeding on the example of a group of non-migrating short-finned pilot whales living between the Islands of Tenerife and La Gomera of the Canary archipelago. A curious feature of the film is that: “all marine mammals filmed in freediving”.

 

 

 Size of short-finned pilot whale compared to an average human

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Excl. range of short-finned pilot whale

   Excl. range of long-finned pilot whale

  Regions of sympatry