The food and feeding ecology of the poorly known southern long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas edwardii) was investigated using ecological tracers (muscle and skin δ 13 C and δ 15 N, and total mercury, Hg) on individuals from two mass strandings together with at-sea observations of live animals in Kerguelen waters, southern Indian Ocean. Sightings of cetaceans from long-liners over 9 years (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) emphasized the regular occurrence of pilot whales in slope waters surrounding the archipelago. Tissue δ 13 C values (a proxy of consumer foraging habitat) suggest that pilot whales fed in slope waters and in oceanic subantarctic waters over the last months preceding stranding. Tissue δ 15 N values and Hg concentration (dietary proxies) indicate a high trophic position (~4.7) for the pilot whales, likely corresponding to a mixed diet of fish and squid (not crustaceans) of undetermined species. Both skin and muscle Hg concentrations were positively and linearly correlated to individual size with no concomitant δ 15 N changes, which can be interpreted as a progressive Hg accumulation in tissues of individuals throughout life with no parallel dietary shift. Skin and muscle Hg concentrations were linearly and positively related; hence, Hg skin could be used as a proxy of Hg concentration in muscle (a main Hg reservoir of the body). Kerguelen southern long-finned pilot whales were less Hg contaminated than most pilotwhale populations studied so far, thus suggesting that they are not at a high risk to Hg-induced damages in the remote islands of the Southern Ocean.