Sightings and Strandings of Beaked Whales from the Mexican Central Pacific

Strandings of pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) in the Mexican Central Pacific

“…Considering the spatial scale, all strandings occurred on beaches in front of a regional submarine trench (Fig. 1), where other cetacean species with oceanic habits have been recorded and linked to feeding activities (Ortega-Ortiz et al, 2014a;2021). On the other hand, two of the recorded strandings occurred during the summer, which coincides with the research by O'Brien (2008) in Southeast United States, suggesting a potential seasonal trend in the strandings of Kogia sp.…”

“…We were not able to conclude on the causes of stranding of these pygmy sperm whales; we can only provide some hypotheses and confirm the presence of this species in the MCP. Nevertheless, this information, in conjunction with recent sightings and strandings of beaked whales (Ortega-Ortiz et al, 2021) and other cetaceans with oceanic habits (Ortega-Ortiz et al, 2014a, b), highlights the biodiversity of cetaceans in the MCP. We therefore encourage subsequent research to continue increasing our ecological knowledge of the species that are found in this region.…”

Ecological aspects of false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) from Mexican Pacific and Southern California waters

“…It could be theorized that the high occurrence rate of sightings in the coastal zone is the consequence of greater effort in the same environment by a larger proportion of cetacean researchers on the west coast of Mexico; however, in central waters of the Mexican Pacific during the 2010–2011 period, four oceanic surveys were conducted up to 100 nm offshore (see fig. 1 in Ortega‐Ortiz et al, 2021), and there was only one sighting of FKW for which it was not possible to take identification photographs of the individuals. This suggests two important hypotheses: (1) that the species does not utilize the farther offshore regions, and (2) when FKW are distributed in the offshore region they make incursions into coastal waters, probably to satisfy some ecological requirements (e.g., foraging; Ortega‐Ortiz et al, 2014).…”