page_title: Pilot whale
section_title: Vocalizations
hierarchical_section_title: Pilot whale / Behavior and life history / Vocalizations
caption_attribution_description: English: I took this picture on December 20, 2005. Farewell Split, South Island, New Zealand. Ilan Adler.
context_page_description: Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. The two extant species are the long-finned pilot whale and the short-finned pilot whale. The two are not readily distinguishable at sea, and analysis of the skulls is the best way to distinguish between the species. Between the two species, they range nearly worldwide, with long-finned pilot whales living in colder waters and short-finned pilot whales living in tropical and subtropical waters. Pilot whales are among the largest of the oceanic dolphins, exceeded in size only by the killer whale. They and other large members of the dolphin family are also known as blackfish. In Newfoundland they are also referred to as squid hounds since they chase and eat squid.
  Pilot whales feed primarily on squid, but will also hunt large demersal fish such as cod and turbot. They are highly social and may remain with their birth pod throughout their lifetime. Short-finned pilot whales are one of the few mammal species in which females go through menopause, and postreproductive females continue to contribute to their pod.
context_section_description: Pilot whales emit echolocation clicks for foraging and whistles and burst pulses as social signals (e.g. to keep contact with members of their pod). With active behavior, vocalizations are more complex, while less-active behavior is accompanied by simple vocalizations. Differences have been found in the calls of the two species. Compared with short-finned pilot whales, long-finned pilot whales have relatively low-frequency calls with narrow frequency ranges. In one study of North Atlantic long-finned pilot whales, certain vocalizations were heard to accompany certain behaviors. When resting or "milling", simple whistles are emitted. Surfacing behavior is accompanied by more complex whistles and pulsed sounds.  The number of whistles made increases with the number of subgroups and the distance in which the whales are spread apart. 
  A study of short-finned pilot whales off the southwest coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands has found the members of a pod maintained contact with each other through call repertoires unique to their pod. A later study found, when foraging at around 800 m deep, short-finned pilot whales make tonal calls. The number and length of the calls seem to decrease with depth despite being farther away from conspecifics at the surface. As such, the surrounding water pressure affects the energy of the calls, but it does not appear to affect the frequency levels.
  When in stressful situations, pilot whales produce "shrills" or "plaintive cries", which are variations of their whistles.
caption: Volunteers attempt to keep body temperatures of beached pilot whales from rising at Farewell Spit, New Zealand.
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