A MASS STRANDING OF SPERM WHALES IN OREGON: SEX AND AGE COMPOSITION OF THE SCHOOL

• Published in: Marine Mammal Science
• Main Authors: Rice, Dale W., Wolman, Allen A., Mate, Bruce R., Harvey, James T.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1986
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Physeter macrocephalus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1986.tb00027.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1748-7692.1986.tb00027.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1986.tb00027.x

A bstract A school of 41 sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus , that stranded near the mouth of the Siuslaw River, Oregon (43°59′N, 124°08′W), on 16 June 1979 consisted of 13 males and 28 females. Their ages were estimated by assuming that each postnatal dentin layer represents one year. The males were all sub‐adults, 9.3–11.5 m long and 14–21 yr old. The females were 9.3–11.4 m long, and 11 to about 58 yr old. Ten females were dissected; nine were sexually mature and three were carrying fetuses 2.64–4.62 m long. None of the 28 females was visibly lactating.