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Long-finned pilot whales off Castlegregory, Co Kerry. Photograph © Simon Berrow/IWDG.
Long-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas)
Píolótach Fadeiteach (Míol Píolótach)
The long-finned pilot whale was regularly reported with 89
validated sightings (1.0%) of a total of 1,162 individuals. Most
pilot whale sightings were from the shelf edge and in deep
water beyond the continental shelf. They were less frequently
recorded from inshore waters. Inshore sightings are biased
towards the southwest and may be associated with live
stranding events. Gregarious in nature, average group size of
this second largest member of the dolphin family was 14.
There were 161 stranding records of a total of 213 individuals
including a number of mass live strandings. A mass stranding
in 2001 of around 40 individuals in north Kerry was the largest
mass stranding of any species in Ireland since the 1960s. A
second mass live stranding occurred in 2009 near the same
site in north Kerry. Pilot whales have been stranded on all
coasts but mainly along the western seaboard and between
counties Kerry and Mayo. The number of strandings of this
species has increased since the 1960s and has continued to
increase over the last ten years. This trend has also been
reported from Scotland and is consistent with other deep
diving species. There was a peak in records between February
and April which accounted for 41% of all records.
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Irish Cetacean Review 2000-2009