Friendly false killer whales known to share their catch

False killer whales have a knotty name, but don’t let the 19th-century label turn you off. There’s so much to love about these animals that after attending whale researcher Robin Baird’s lecture on them at Hanauma Bay last week, I wished I could throw my arms around the neck of a false killer whale and give it a hug.

I mean, what other marine mammal shares its fish not only with others in its pod, but also with swimming humans and people in boats?

The main Hawaiian Islands host about 150 false killer whales that are genetically distinct from other false killer whales of the world. The 11- to 18-foot-long marine mammals (males are larger) spend their lives foraging between Kauai and the Big Island.

Like killer whales, false killer whales are mammals that live in social groups and cooperate in hunts. False killer whales, however, have the charming behavior of sharing their catch.

Researchers know this because false killer whales bring their fish, often a mahimahi, ono or ahi, to the surface. There, pod members pass the prey to each other before eating it.

"Here, you take the first bite," one seems to be saying.

"No, no, let Grandma have it," says another, passing it on.

Spotting a researcher photographing such sharing, one false killer whale offered the diver some tuna, too. And when a false killer whale ended up alone in the Puget Sound area (this is normally a tropical and subtropical species), it offered boaters pieces of salmon.

Also, false killer whales really do swim with their grandmas. This is one of only four species in the world whose females go through menopause and live for decades beyond. The other three are orcas, pilot whales and humans.

After reaching their teens, female false killer whales have one calf every six to seven years, experience menopause at about age 40 and live into their 60s.

The false killer whale name came from skull and teeth similarities to killer whales, but the resemblance is superficial. The two are not closely related.

Speaking of researchers, because of Baird and his Cascadia Research team’s 14 years of study, more is known about false killer whales in Hawaii than anywhere else in the world.

Besides discovering that Hawaii has its own population, they also documented an alarming decline in number, to about 150 from 500 in the 1980s. Photos clearly show fishing line injuries to some false killer whales. Necropsies revealed fishhooks in stomachs.

As a result of Cascadia’s publications, the Hawaiian Islands false killer whale was listed as endangered in 2012. In 2013, Hawaii’s longliners switched to circle hooks to stem injury and death.

I doubt I’ll ever get my arms around a false killer whale, but it’s Baird and his team who deserve the hugs anyway. Their research and education efforts got our sharing, ohana-living, funny-named kama­aina whales the break they needed.

For out-of-this-world photos of Hawaii’s false killer whales, as well as coloring pages for kids, check out www.cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii/falsekillerwhale.htm.

Reach Susan Scott at www.susanscott.net.