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Long-finned pilot whale - GLOBICEPHALA MELAENA
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Whale": As with the Killer Whale, this dolphin has also been misidentified.
Location: The Atlantic Ocean in the northern temperate region.
Habitat: Aquatic. Coastal waters, yet not too close to the shore, and yet rarely on completely open seas.
Description: The color of the pilot whale is coal-gray, but the underside is paler. The dorsal fin is not very high and is situated on the forward half of the body, and the lateral fins are long and pointed. The forehead is markedly bulging and increases in Size with age. There are usually 10 teeth on each side ot each jaw. The pilot whale reaches about 20 feet in length and about three tons in weight. Females are somewhat shorter and only about half the weight of males.
Behavior: This dolphin lives in pods of from 5 to 20 animals, but in northern waters this number can increase to more than 100. It swims to great depths, more than 3300 feet, and can stay submerged for up to 2 hours! It feeds on fish; especially cuttlefish. There is a migratory movement, but the routes and destinations are not well known.
Reproduction: After a 15-16-month gestation, a single calf about six feet long is born in July through October. It is not fully weaned until about 2 years old, although teeth erupt and feeding on squid begins at about 6 to 9 months.
Note: These dolphins occasionally beach themselves, thus virtually committing suicide. Efforts to return them to the sea are frustrated by the fact that as soon as they are returned to deeper water, they head straight back to shore.
Go to the Cetacea Page to learn more about the other whale-like animals.
Go to the Index to compare the various Dolphins found in America Zoo.
Go to the Index to compare the various Whales found in America Zoo.
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