Globicephala melas

SIZE: Male- 4-6.7 m, Female- 3.8-5.7 m

Long-finned pilot whales are a species of toothed whale, closely related to orcas. Like orcas, they live in quite stable family groups that are led by an adult female, or matriarch. The average group size is around 11–14 individuals, but long-finned pilot whales are very social and can often be seen in groups numbering hundreds of individuals. These larger groups are made up of many families travelling together.

Males are larger than females, like in many toothed whale species, and have a very rounded dorsal fin. Long-finned pilot whales can dive deeply and feed on squid and deep-living fish. In Iceland, they are probably feeding on mackerel and possibly cod at depth, although we are not completely sure.

Like orcas, female long-finned pilot whales are known to go through menopause and live complex, highly social lives, passing on important knowledge and information to younger generations within the group. They can be very curious, and we could often turn off the engines and simply drift, surrounded by whales that would spy-hop, blow bubbles and sometimes squeak at us right next to the boat.

Long-finned pilot whales were a very regular sighting for many years off Ólafsvík in late summer and autumn, when groups of hundreds were a frequent and spectacular sight. In the last couple of years, sightings have declined, and we are not sure why.

Long-finned pilot whales are sadly still hunted in the North Atlantic, particularly in the Faroe Islands (drive hunt known as grindadráp), and it is not clear whether these could include individuals that we sometimes encounter off the west coast of Iceland.