The present study is the first assessment of its movement patterns in Australian waters, on the basis of satellite tracking of four individuals, in the Arafura and Timor Seas from late March to early July 2014. In most parts of its range, there is little information on its social behaviour, dispersal or ecology. The false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is regarded as Data Deficient globally and in Australia. Further information on distribution, abundance, movements, population structure and mortality rates are required for effective management of the species in the ETA. The re-sightings of marked individuals between sightings and years suggest that at least some individuals exhibit a degree of site fidelity to Gabonese shelf waters. These are the first verified records of false killer whales using continental shelf waters in the ETA, indicating that the species occupies neritic habitat in the region in addition to its previously documented Whistles recorded during one sighting had simple structure, short duration and a mean fundamental frequency of 7.8 kHz. Observations included predation of Atlantic sailfish Istiophoms albicans and two occurrences in proximity to humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae. Forty-three false killer whales were photo-identified during three encounters on the Gabonese shelf seven individuals were matched between 20, including two individuals that were present during all three sightings. All six sightings were located in continental shelf waters (≤103 m depth) and in relatively nearshore (mean ¼ 13.9 km) habitat. Here we report six false killer whale records from cetacean surveys carried out off Gabon (four records) and Cte d’Ivoire (two records) between 20, providing the first at-sea sightings in those two existing range states. Of course, over the years, we’ve also improved the speed and quality of the cameras (and adding more video to the mix) to increase our chances of getting good images/videos of these types of events.The false killer whale Pseudorca crassidens is currently documented from only six eastern tropical Atlantic (ETA) range states, five of which are evidenced by strandings, by-catch or skeletal remains rather than at-sea sightings and consequently provide no information on habitat or behaviour. Although we see them catching mahi-mahi a lot (it is the most frequently recorded prey species in our study), often the glimpses are quick or at a distance. We’ve had four encounters this project (in the first 8 days – today is day 9 and the boat is out now), but in the four encounters, we had a lot of feeding on December 3rd (11 different predation events), but 3 the second day, and none the last two days. This is the fourth project we’ve done based on this island (2012, 2017, and 2018), and each project has just been 2-3 weeks, and we have had great success here. Robin Baird added, “Over the years, we’ve satellite-tagged quite a few individuals so have been able to identify “hot spots,” and one of them is off the southwest side of Lāna‘i, the island where we are currently based. The researchers recorded what they say on their website were “several predation events on mahi-mahi. WATCH: Parley’s Canyon overpass being used by wildlife, safer for driversĬonducting a 16-day field research to study the foraging habits of the endangered false killer whale, the researchers were concentrating on photo ID’s and radio tagging the rare ocean mammal. The population around the main Hawaiian Islands is small (the most recent estimate, from 2015, is 167 individuals), and most of those spend most of their time on the windward sides of the islands (the trade winds blow from the east to the west, and almost all the small boat research in Hawaii is on the west sides of the islands where it is relatively calm.” We’ve had some years with a couple of months of fieldwork where we may only see them once or twice in a year (and some years we’ve never found them despite a month or more of fieldwork). Courtesy: Cascadia ResearchĬascadia Researcher Robin Baird, who took the picture, told ABC4 News, “Although we’ve been studying false killer whales for a long time, they are actually pretty hard to encounter. They can grow to be 20 feet and dive more than 3,000 feet. The animal got its name because the head is similarly shaped to that of a killer whale. The animal is called a false killer whale but is actually a species of dolphin.
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MAUI NUI, Hawaii – Cascadia Collective researchers caught a rare sight on camera, a false killer whale eating a fish.