Dwarf Sperm Whale -- Cetacean Info at Whale Songs

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Kogia simus

DISCOVERED: Owen, 1866

COMMON NAME: Dwarf Sperm Whale

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:

* Appears to prefer warmer waters and seems to be especially common off the southern tip of Africa and in the Gulf of California, Mexico, where it occurs fairly close to the shore

DESCRIPTION:

* Small size
* Prominent, falcate fin
* False gill behind each eye
* Robust body
* Squarish head
* Smallest of all whales

NATURAL HISTORY:

HABITAT:

* Predominantly a deep-water species
* Possibly concentrated over the edge of the continental shelf
* Lack of records of where the animals live may be due to inconspicuous behavior

FOOD & FEEDING:

* Diet consists primarily of squid
* Fish and crustaceans also taken
* May dive to depths of at least 300 m in order to retrieve food

LIFE CYCLE:

* Grow to about 2.7 m
* Length at birth is 1 m
* Males and females have similar appearances
* Sexual maturity= 2.1- 2.2 m (both males and females)
* Calving season lasts six months
* Evidence which suggests prolonged lactation
* Gestation period of 9.5 months

BEHAVIOR:

* Low inconspicuous blow
* May float motionless at surface
* Slow, dilberate movement
* Simply drops below surface
* When startled, may evacuate a reddish brown intestinal fluid and then dive- may serve as a decoy
* Probably does not approach boats
* May occasionally breach, leaping vertically out of the water a belly flop
* Probably dives to depths of at least 985 ft. (300 m)

WORLD POPULATION:

* Nothing known about abundance or stock identity
* One of the more common species to come onshore when stranded
* Generally thought to be more common than previously thought
* Unobstrusive behavior responsible for lack of records on sightings

HUMAN INFLUENCE

* No major threats to this species
* Possibly some cases of casual exploitation with early whalers
* Some appear in small cetacean fisheries off southern Japan, Indonesia, and St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles
* Sometimes seen in fishing markets in Sri Lanka- through accidental catches
* Main use is for meat for human consumption
* Plastic bags sometimes found in the stomach, which can prevent digestion of food and ultimately, cause death



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