BWB – What fossil discoveries in marine mammals reveal about the evolution of species
November 22, 2025
Today we had a very sad and touching encounter at sea. I had just told our guests that mourning behaviour in Pilot whales and orcas is now well documented when we actually witnessed this sad, final act of love.
A small group of Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) were travelling through the sea. We quickly spotted the body of the dead calf being dragged through the water by its mother in her beak. The mother was accompanied by another young animal. Meanwhile, we stood waiting as the mother and young animal approached us. Both swam back and forth in front of and next to the boat. It was a clear interaction with us. The juvenile lifted its head out of the water or turned to the side directly in front of the bow and remained in this position. There was less than a metre between its eye and us. The animal looked directly at us. This look went deep. Witnessing the grief-stricken behaviour of this mother and the rest of the group is heartbreaking.
One guest asked what the animals wanted to tell us. A good question to which we can only guess. Thanks to our form of socialisation, we have certainly lost some of the senses that would possibly enable us to understand much more. However, it was clear to anyone who witnessed this, or felt touched just reading this description, that these wonderful, sensitive marine mammals must be protected.
However, I would like to take up the question of why at this point. What could be the reasons for the death of the pilot whale calf? The following factors could be possible: Food shortage; toxins and environmental pollution; parasites and disease; stress and noise pollution. Not in our case, but it is worth mentioning that these wonderful animals are still being brutally slaughtered in the Faroe Islands and in Japan/Taiji. And this is where you come in! Please sign the petitions against the places mentioned above on the Lobosonda page and support their protection.
https://www.lobosonda.com/marine-protection/
by Fatima Kutzschbach
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:00 Short-finned pilot whales
13:00 Short-finned pilot whales
Stenella
09:30 Short-finned pilot whales, Bottlenose dolphins
13:30 Short-finned pilot whales
