Other Species Reported 



Five other species ot dolphin/porpoise have been reported as 

 vagrants in or near the SCB and therefore might be expected as rare 

 visitors to the CINMS. 



Pygmy sperm whales, Kogia brmteps (Blainville, 1858), have been 

 reported from Washington south to (and into") the Sea of Cortes. 

 Along the California coast they have stranded at Imperial Beach, 

 Mission Beach, Del Mar, Balboa, and Cabrillo Beach. They have rarely 

 been seen and positively identified alive ( although the frequency of 

 strandings suggests they may be more common ) and it is generally 

 believed that they remain habitually seaward of the continental shelf 



FiCiURE 44. Neither pvgm\- nor dwarf sperm v\hales are likely to be seen ver\ 

 often in the SCB. Both are secretive inhabitants of the open sea ,ind .irc 

 detected even by experienced observers onl\' under exxeptional circum- 

 stances. rLett photo of X. hrmnps hom )i°27'N, 120°04'W, 10 October 1979, 

 bv M. Gravbill. Right photo of AC nmus from the eastern tropical Pacific, 

 1987, hv M. Wchher. 



Dwarf sperm whales, Kogia simus (Owen, 1866) are known from 

 south (the Pacific coast of southern Baja California) and north (San 

 Luis Obispo County and British Columbia) of the SCB, but like the 

 pygmy sperm whales are believed to be primarily creatures of the open 

 sea. There are no confirmed records of dwarf sperm whales from 

 within the SCB. 



Both species of Xogia feed on cephalopods and shrimp. The proba- 

 bility' that either will occur in the SCB is highest in years and seasons 

 when pelagic squid are present in substantial numbers, as was true in 

 the late 1970s and early 1980s; otherwise, neither is likely to be seen 

 inshore of the continental rise. 



A tew striped dolphins, Sttnella cccruleoalim. have been found stranded 

 in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Southern California 

 and a few individuals of this species have been seen alive just outside 

 the outer Channel Islands. However, sightings 1000 km due west of 

 Los Angeles and what is known about the species' distribution from 

 extensive studies elsewhere suggest that striped dolphins may be more 

 abundant far offshore in warm temperate to tropical waters. 



Figure 45. A striped dolphin from the cistern tropical Pacific and one 

 stranded at Ncskowin, Oregon, 28 December 1974. These dolphins arc 

 rarelv seen alive or found on beaches of the temperate eastern North Pacific, 

 generally preferring warmer waters farther south. ( Photos b\' M. Webber 

 (top) and bv D. Beach from the files ol S. Leatherwood.j 



?2 



