Practical Boat Owner - January 2016

Cruising

LONG-FINNED PILOT WHALESSize: Distinctive markings: 3.5-6.5m Dark-brownish grey to black, long flippers, bulbous forehead and no obvious beak. (Globicephala melas)

Anchor-shaped lighter grey patch on the chest and belly.Pilot whale ID: The dorsal fin is wide at the base and deeply curved, and the rounded head is often visible.

SPERM WHALE Size: Distinctive markings: 11-18m. The male is considerably larger than the female.Huge, square head, one-third to one-quarter of the (Physeter macrocephalus)

body length. No distinct dorsal fin, but a triangular hump at the top of the spinal ridge. Sperm whale ID:Typically calm (log-like) at surface, followed by tail lift as the whale dives. Bushy blow, 1.5-5m high, directed forward and to the left.

The sperm whale’s habit is typically calm at the surface

■waters are all males, as the females and young stay between latitudes 40° north and south, where temperatures are over 15°C. Female sperm whales live in close-knit family groups, while the males travel to colder Sperm whales are distributed worldwide. The whales seen in UK

and more productive waters where they usually live solitary lives and focus on feeding to grow in size. The blowhole of the sperm whale is unique, in that it is located on the tip of the head on the left-hand side. The blow therefore points slightly forward and about 45° to the left.

The sperm whale has no distinctive dorsal fin and, along with its calm surface behaviour, it almost resembles a floating log until it dives. When diving, it typically lifts its tail fluke fully out of the water.

Female Adult male

Dive sequence

Dive sequence

Dive sequence

■dorsal fin of the male is recognisable even from a distance. Killer whales often display curiosity and acrobatic behaviour, such(popping their head out of the water), tail slapping and breaching (jumping clear of the water). Killer whales live in close-knit family pods of between two and 30 individuals, although they are sometimes spotted alone. The as spy-hopping tall and pitch-black

KILLER WHALE Size:Distinctive markings: 5-9m Black back and sides, grey saddle behind the dorsal fin and a white belly (Orcinus orca)

extending as a ‘wave’ up the sides, also white under the fluke (tail) and with a white patch above and behind the eye.Killer whale ID: triangular and erect, up to 1.8m – while females and immature killer whales have a smaller and Conspicuous black and white colouration. Adult males have a tall dorsal fin –

distinctly curved fin.

■associations). Resting behaviour is calm, but they may display the occasional bow ride, tail slap, breach or spy-hop. Pilot whales live in extremely tightly-knit family groups. The pods can range in size from a few individuals to hundreds (close matriarchal

Other toothed whalesLike dolphins and porpoises, some other toothed whales can be observed around the UK. The three species
below are those considered most common in UK waters, in addition to the six species on the previous page.

Lindis Bergland