Despite their world‐wide distribution throughout the tropics and subtropics, false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are one of the lesser‐known large odontocetes. Genetic evidence indicates a demographically isolated population around the main Hawaiian Islands. We examine site fidelity, movements and association patterns in this population using data from directed surveys and opportunistic photographs from 1986 to 2007. This species was only infrequently encountered, and while found in depths from 38 to 4,331 m, sighting rates were greatest in depths >3,000 m. We photo‐identified 152 distinctive individuals. Resighting rates were high, with an average of 76.8% of distinctive individuals within groups documented on more than one occasion. Most (86.6%) were linked by association into a single social network; only one large group (16 distinctive individuals), documented the farthest offshore (42–70 km), did not link by association to that large network, and may be part of an offshore population. Individual movements of up to 283 km were documented, with a large proportion of individuals moving among islands. Individuals were resighted up to 20.1 yr after first being documented, showing long‐term fidelity to the islands. Repeated associations among individuals were documented for up to 15 yr, and association analyses indicate preferred associations and strong bonds among individuals.

Although the Ziphiidae are the second‐most speciose family of cetaceans, information on beaked whale species and populations has been limited by the difficulties in finding and approaching free‐ranging individuals. Site fidelity, patterns of association, and movements of two species, Cuvier's (Ziphius cavirostris) and Blainville's (Mesoplodon densirostris) beaked whales, were assessed using a 21‐yr photographic data set from the west coast of the island of Hawaii. Resightings of individuals of both species spanned 15 yr, suggesting long‐term site fidelity to the area. Long‐term resightings were documented primarily from adult females of both species. Group sizes for both species were small and most groups had only a single adult male present. For Blainville's beaked whales, repeated associations between adult females and adult males were documented for all resightings of adult males over periods from 1 to 154 d. Among adult females, although repeated associations occurred up to 9 yr apart, individuals were seen separately in intervening years. Individuals of both species seen on multiple occasions were typically documented in multiple months/seasons, suggesting they may use the study area throughout the year. Such long‐term site fidelity has implications both for potential population structure and for susceptibility of beaked whale populations to anthropogenic impacts.

Beaked whales (family Ziphiidae) are thought to be among the longest and deepest diving mammals, and some species appear to be prone to mass-strand in response to high-intensity sonar. We studied diving behaviour of Cuvier’s ( Ziphius cavirostris G. Cuvier, 1823) and Blainville’s ( Mesoplodon densirostris (Blainville, 1817)) beaked whales in Hawaiian waters using suction-cup-attached time–depth recorders. Six whales, two Cuvier’s and four Blainville’s, were tagged and 41 h of dive data were collected. While Cuvier’s beaked whales were found in significantly deeper water depths (median depth = 2079 m) than Blainville’s beaked whales (median depth = 922 m), several aspects of diving were similar between the two species: (i) both regularly dove for 48–68 min to depths greater than 800 m (maximum 1408 m for Blainville’s and 1450 m for Cuvier’s); (ii) ascent rates for long/deep dives were substantially slower than descent rates, while for shorter dives there were no consistent differences; and (iii) both spent prolonged periods of time (66–155 min) in the upper 50 m of the water column. Based on time intervals between dives for the Cuvier’s beaked whales, such long dives were likely aerobic, but both species appeared to prepare for long dives by spending extended periods of time near the surface.