ECS Beaked whale Workshop: Cork, 2000 Ziiphids recorded in Irish waters

• Main Authors: Simon Berrow, Irish Whale, Dolphin Group, Merchants Quay, Co. Clare
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: hyperoodon ampullatus
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.514.4809; http://www.iwdg.ie/downloads/Beaked whales in Ireland.pdf

In view of recent mass stranding of Ziiphids in the Bahamas (March, 2000) and the rrecovery of three Ziphiids between the 14th and 25th March on the west coast of Ireland I have provided a brief review of Ziphiidae in Ireland for the ECS Workshop on Beaked whales. Data on strandings were obtained from O'Riordan (1972) and Berrow and Rogan (1997), trends in sightings from Evans (1991) and recent strandings from the Irish Naturalists ' Journal and the IWDG database. There are confirmed records of five species of Ziphiid, the northern bottlenosed whale Hyperoodon ampullatus and four members of the genus Ziphius. Northern Bottlenosed Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus (Forster) There have been 26 stranded bottlenosed whales reported occurring all around the Irish coast. Ten of these (38%) occurred between Counties Louth and Dublin on the east coast and it is the only Ziphiid regularly reported from the Irish Sea. Stendall (1926) reported a Bottlenose Whale in Belfast Lough with a smashed jaw possibly due to a ship's propeller and two strandings (one in 1998 and one in 1999) were live strandings. In addition the carcass found on Wexford in 1985 was reported as fresh. The live stranding on Bere Island in 1998 was one of a group of three, the other two were refloated.