Two beaked whales, Mesoplodon species, were found stranded alive at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA on 24 August 1989. They were rescued by staff from the California Marine Mammal Center and transported to Marine World Africa USA in Vallejo, CA for rehabilitation efforts by the staff of the two facilities. Both whales died. One of the whales, Nicholas, was identified as Hubb’s beaked whale, M. carlhubbsi, by skull characteristics (Stephen F. Bailey, personal communication, 1991). The species of the other whale has yet to be determined but is assumed to be the same. The attempted rehabilitation of these whales provided a unique opportunity to observe behavior and record concurrent vocalizations. Two hundred ninety-six pulse sequences and six whistles were recorded. In this note we report temporal and spectral parameters of these vocalizations.
Lynn, S. K., and D. Reiss. 1992. Pulse sequence and whistle production by two captive beaked whales, Mesoplodon species. Marine Mammal Science 8(3):299–305.