Pilot Whales :Slaughtered
Seventy-eight long-finned pilot whales, a species of oceanic dolphins, were slaughtered near the capital of Faroe Islands recently.
- Pilot Whales are one of the largest members of the dolphin family.
- They belong to the dolphin family Delphinidae.
- There are two species of pilot whales:
- Short-finned pilot whales(Globicephala macrorhynchus), which are mainly found in tropical and warm-temperate regions.
- Long-finned pilot whales (G. melas), which inhabit colder waters.
- They are characterized by a round bulging forehead, a short beaklike snout, and slender pointed flippers.
- The short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and the long-finned pilot whale (G. melas) are similar in appearance except for the pronounced difference in flipper length between the two species.
- Both long-finned and short-finned pilot whales are about 4–6 metres (13–20 feet) long.
- Males of both species are larger than females.
- Both species are black, and some individuals have a pale, elongated anchor-shaped mark adorning the throat and chest.
- Pilot whales live in groups numbering from dozens to hundreds.
