Photo by Amy Van Cise, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NMFS permit #15530
Catherine Meyer – University of Auckland – The life of Pilot Whales in New Zealand.
While pilot whales are most commonly known for their tendency to mass strand in NZ (and around the world), my study focused on gaining some insight into the lives of these animals when they are at-sea. I used a data set spanning 16 years to study long-finned pilot whales in NZ waters, mainly from the Bay of Islands area, collected by researchers who were out looking for other ocean critters and also by commercial tour boats in the area, with some data also coming from tour operators on the Kaikoura coast. My project focused on using photo-identification methodology to build the first photo-ID dorsal fin catalogue for long-finned pilot whales in NZ, using these photos to then investigate the social structure of the species and also document their interactions with other delphinids (mainly oceanic bottlenose dolphins).