white head and are
frequently extensively scarred.

Natural History Notes

Goosebeaked whales frequently occur in groups of from 10 to as many as
25 individuals. They have been reported to jump clear of the water. They
are presumably deep divers and are known to stay down for more than 30
min. When they begin a deep dive, they often raise their tail flukes
above the surface and dive nearly vertically. Goosebeaked whales feed
primarily on squid.

May Be Confused With

So little is known of the external appearance and behavior of the living
beaked whales at sea that all the species may easily be confused.

Goosebeaked whales are larger than all other beaked whale species with
the exception of the northern bottlenosed whale. Upon close examination
they may be distinguished from the northern bottlenosed whale by the
lighter coloration of the head, reaching an extreme in the white head of
adult males. (See p. 67 and Fig. 75.)

Distribution

As with other species of beaked whales seldom encountered or at least
seldom positively identified at sea, the distribution of goosebeaked
whales is poorly known and must be constructed from records of stranded
specimens. Such records, often involving sick individuals that may have
washed ashore from considerable distances, may give an inaccurate
picture of normal ranges.

In general, stranding reports suggest that goosebeaked whales are
sparsely but widely distributed in nonpolar latitudes. They appear to be
primarily tropical in distribution, though they venture into temperate
areas in summer. They have been reported from Massachusetts and Rhode
Island south to Florida and thence to the islands of the West Indies.
They are frequently stranded along the Florida coast and are not an
uncommon species in the extant whale fishery of the Antillean Islands.
The fact that goosebeaked whales strand more frequently than other
beaked whales may reflect either a greater abundance or a greater
tendency to approach close to shore.

They are probably primarily an offshore species.

Stranded Specimens

To be positively identified, stranded goosebeaked whales in an advanced
state of decomposition may require museum preparation and examination of
the skull and teeth. Fresh specimens may be tentatively identified by
the characters illustrated in the figures.

[Illustration: Figure 71.--Goosebeaked whales have been rarely seen at
sea. In these photos from the eastern tropical Pacif