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Dieren en planten

Cuttlefish   European squid   Cetaceans   Dolphins   Bottlenose dolphin   White-beaked dolphin   Pilot whale   Marine fauna   Whale strandings   

Mens en Milieu

Hunting   Whale hunting   Pollution   North Sea   Acoustic pollution   

Pilot whale

size:

Males 4-8 meters
Females: 3-6 meters

weight:

2000-4000 kilograms

color:

Dark brown or gray black

age:

Maximum 60 years

food:

Squid, but also fish such as cod

  • Dut: Griend (traanvis)
  • Lat: Globicephala Melaena
  • Eng: pilot whale (long-finned pilot whale)
  • Fren: globicephale noir
  • Ger: Grindwal
  • Dan: Langluffet grindehval
  • Nor: Grindhval
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Pilot whale, Frits-Jan Maas

Pilot whale

Pilot whales are large dolphins with a markedly round forehead. They were named after their reputation for leading fishermen to good fishing grounds for octopus. There is one population living in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, there are several including one by Antarctica. Just like killer whales, pilot whales live in close family groups of 20 to 100 animals. They hunt mostly squid. Pilot whales sometimes strand in massive numbers. Sightings of groups of pilot whales migrating through the North Sea appear to be increasing in the past few years. The most recent pilot whale beaching was in May 2006 on Schiermonnikoog.

  • Distribution and habitat
    Pilot whale, Marijke de Boer

    Pilot whales prefer deeper water. They are found in the northern and the southern hemisphere. The only place they aren't found is between the tropics.

  • Stranding on the Dutch coast
    Stranded pilot whale on Schiermonnikoog, 23 May 2006, Ineke Abma
    DatePlace and details
    21 November 1594 Zandvoort
    20 September 1608 Scheveningen/Katwijk
    9 April 1825 St.Annaland, 38 animals
    2 April 1856 Ouddorp, 61 animals
    5 april 1856 Vrouwenpolder, 13 animals
    end of 1884 Egmond
    6 October 1917 Scheveningen/Wassenaar
    9 October 1917 Egmond
    12 July 1958 Schiermonnikoog
    April 1965 Terschelling, male
    1 November 1970 Noordwijk
    7 September 1975 Walcheren, floating female
    11 December 1979 Zandvoort, male
    19 December 1982 Oosterend, Terschelling, female
    14 January 1983 Ouddorp, female
    20 January 1983 Borssele, female
    30 July 1985 Westkapelle, male
    2 July 1990 Petten
    24 May 2003 Hondbossche Zeewering
    23 May 2006 Schiermonnikoog, on display in Natuurmuseum Friesland
    Source: Archive Naturalis and Chris Smeenk
  • Hunted
    Stranded pilot whale on Schiermonnikoog, 23 May 2006, Ineke Abma

    The pilot whale used to be hunted intensively for its meat and oil. Presently, they are still hunted around Greenland and the Faroe Islands.