SN540 Sædís

## SN0540 Sædís

SN0540 Sædís with a newborn long-finned pilot whale calf. August 12th, 2021. Photo provided by Orca Guardians Iceland.

### Latest Sighting

July 26th, 2022, in Breiðafjörður (west Iceland).

## Physical Traits

### Ecotype

Icelandic

SN0540 ''Sædís'' (*pronounced SAI-deez*), also known as IS019, is a female killer whale from the west Iceland killer whale population that belongs to Dragonfly's core group. Sædís is known for her unusual interspecies encounter in which she was observed swimming in echelon position with a newborn long-finned pilot whale calf in August 2021.

## Core Group

Dragonfly's core group is a small group that consists of three individuals that are all in their adulthood and thought to be likely related: SN0092 ''Dragonfly'', SN0540 ''Sædís'' herself, and male SN0089 ''Zale''. According to the non-profit killer whale research organization Orca Guardians Iceland, this group has been observed to be a very stable, tight-knit social group and all members of the group have been present during every encounter the organization has had with them so far.

## Interspecies Interactions

    On August 12th, 2021, SN0540 ''Sædís'' and the rest of her core group were observed with a newborn long-finned pilot whale calf swimming by their side. SN0540 ''Sædís'' was observed swimming with the calf in echelon (mother-calf) position for the duration of the encounter, which lasted for twenty-one minutes. No other cetaceans, except for Sædís and her core group, were observed in the area during this time period and there were no visible interactions between the other group members and the long-finned pilot whale calf but they did seem to tolerate its presence. When the group was encountered again in March of 2022, the long-finned pilot whale was no longer present. (Mrusczok et al, 2023)

On July 19th, 2022, Dragonfly's group was encountered again and was observed associating with ten other killer whales. These killer whales were all observed interacting with a pod of approximately forty long-finned pilot whales. During the twenty-six minute long encounter the pilot whales were observed pursuing the killer whales southwest by porpoising towards them. The killer whales did not exhibit any aggressive behavior towards the pilot whales but they did exhibit a clear avoidance behavior and swam away from the pod. At one point during the encounter, both the killer whales and the pilot whales turned and started heading northeast and the killer whales started travelling towards the pilot whales before being chased off again. These chases repeated themselves several times throughout encounter. (Mrusczok et al, 2023)

## Diet

SN0540 ''Sædís'' and her group have been previously observed feeding on Atlantic herring.

## Trivia

* 'Sædís' is an Icelandic name and means 'fairy of the sea'.

## Galleries

* Photos of SN0540 Sædís
* Videos of SN0540 Sædís

## References

1. ↑ 'Samarra FIP, Tavares SB, Miller PJO, Vikingsson GA. Killer whales of Iceland (2006-2015). Report of the Marine and
Freshwater Research Institute.'
2. ↑ 'Mrusczok, Marie-Thérèse. Killer whales of Iceland (2011-2021). Photo-identification catalogue with an emphasis on West Iceland.'
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Marie-Thérèse Mrusczok, Elizabeth Zwamborn, Menja von Schmalensee, Sara Rodríguez Ramallo, and Robert A. Stefansson. First account of apparent alloparental care of a long-finned pilot whale calf (*Globicephala melas*) by a female killer whale (*Orcinus orca*). *Canadian Journal of Zoology*. e-First  https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2022-0161