Mammals of North Carolina:
their Distribution and Abundance
Long-finned Pilot Whale - Globicephala melas
Delphinidae Members: 		Search Common:                 Search Scientific:
Distribution Mainly found in NC waters north of Cape Hatteras, in the cooler Labrador Current waters, but certainly occurs farther out to sea where waters are more moderate. There are stranding records for just four of the eight coastal counties in the state.

Mainly in the north Atlantic Ocean, but a separate population occurs in the Southern Hemisphere. Not in the north Pacific. Ranges in the Atlantic south to NC and SC.
Abundance Though common to abundant in the Atlantic, in NC waters seems to be poorly known and not nearly as well known as the Short-finned Pilot Whale, in part because of their similarity of appearance and in part because fewer boats/vessels are at sea during the cooler months or in the cooler waters. Very seldom reported at sea in NC, perhaps because of identification difficulties. Tentatively called rare in NC waters, south to Cape Hatteras, and very rare southward. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History mammal collections (2016) lists 10 stranding records for NC.
Seasonal Occurrence Probably occurs off NC all year. Of the 10 strandings in NC up to 1995 (Webster et al., 1995), eight were in March-April, and singles were in July and November. The 10 stranding records in the NMNH database (as of 2021) span most of the year, but there are none for December or January. This seems odd, as it is thought to be more of a cold-water species, yet we have no known strandings in early to mid-winter.
Habitat Cool to medium temperature waters, as opposed to the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. Not well dcumented is the distance from shore the species favors off NC.
Behavior Similar to that of the Short-finned Pilot Whale, this species occurs in pods of several dozen or more, swimming slowly at or near the surface, with little diving.
Comments Except for the longer flippers, the species is difficult to separate at sea from the Short-finned Pilot Whale. Like that species, despite its apparently large numbers, the IUCN considers it as a Data Deficient species. The two pilot whale species are actually dolphins (Family Delphinidae) and not whales.
Origin Native
NC List Official
State Rank S2?M
State Status
Global Rank G5
Federal Status
subspecies
other_comName Atlantic Pilot Whale
synonym Globicephala melaena
NC Map
Map depicts all counties with a report (transient or resident) for the species.		Click on county for list of all database records for species in that county.