Recently, more than two dozen pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a remote beach in New Zealand.

About Pilot Whales
Pilot whales are highly intelligent and social dolphins known for their distinctive bulbous heads and powerful family bonds. The name comes from a historical belief that each group, or pod, was led by a single "pilot" whale. 

Physical characteristics 

• Size: As two of the largest members of the dolphin family (Delphinidae), pilot whales are second in size only to orcas. Males are larger than females, with long-finned males reaching about 6.5 meters and short-finned males growing up to 7.2 meters.
• Head: Their genus name, Globicephala, translates to "round head," a defining feature caused by a rounded, fatty organ called a melon. In males, the melon becomes more pronounced with age.
• Coloration: They are typically dark gray to black, often with a paler, anchor-shaped patch on their belly and a lighter "saddle" patch behind the dorsal fin.
• Fins: Both species have a thick, curved dorsal fin, but the long-finned pilot whale has distinctly longer, tapered pectoral flippers. 

Behavior and social structure 
Pilot whales live in highly stable, close-knit family groups, or pods, typically consisting of 10 to 30 individuals, but sometimes exceeding 100. 

• Matrilineal pods: Pods are based on matrilineal kinship, and calves of both sexes remain with their mothers for life. This social structure is similar to that of resident orcas.
• Mating: To prevent inbreeding, males temporarily leave their home pod during large gatherings of whales to mate with females from other pods.
• Communication: They use a variety of whistles and pulsed sounds for communication and echolocation, the biological sonar used to navigate and hunt prey.
• Menopause: Female short-finned pilot whales are one of the few non-primate mammals to experience menopause. Post-reproductive females play a crucial role in caring for other calves in the pod. 

Conservation status 
Both the long-finned and short-finned pilot whale species are classified as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, specific populations face localized threats. 

• Threats: Historically, pilot whales were targeted by drive hunts. Other threats include entanglement in fishing gear, exposure to pollutants like mercury, ocean noise, and the impacts of climate change on their food sources.
• Protection: Both species are protected under various international agreements, such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act in the United States and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). 

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