Swimming Under the Radar

Unknown whales of the ocean blue

Exploration is a word drenched in nostalgia for most humans living in the 21st century. In the day and age of Wikipedia and Google Maps, it’s hard to imagine a place or thing on Earth that humans don’t already know exists. But to that line of thinking, we say au contraire. To put it plainly, it’s just simply not true. Whales, of all things, do one hell of a job at rustling up that childlike curiosity we seem to lose sight of. As some of the most elusive and mysterious creatures on this planet, there are more than a handful that we didn’t even know existed up until a couple of years ago. And an even larger number we’ve only ever heard of, let alone laid eyeballs on. This information shouldn’t be that surprising, considering there’s no shortage of hiding places throughout the 1.3 trillion liters of water in the world’s oceans. But for some reason or another, “new whale” doesn’t make headlines. Likely the reason for the lack of awareness of many of these secretive cetaceans is that the list of humans who have actually seen them is shorter than your average coffee order. Which is exactly why we tracked a few of those aforementioned humans down and asked if they might help share their very literal one-of-a-kind expertise on these new, unknown whales and a bit about what it’s like to see something for the first time. Because if that’s not exploration, we don’t know what is. Take it away, friends.

Expert: Erich Hoyt | Research Fellow at Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and author of Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises

Baleen or Toothed: Baleen

Who Made the Discovery: Hal Sato took the first photos, but Tadasu Yamada led the taxonomic work to identify the species. Tadasu was curator of the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo and a well-known beaked whale specialist before his passing in 2024. Senior beaked whale scientists Robert Brownell and Toshio Kasuya later gave the whale the name “Sato’s beaked whale.” To this day, it is one of only two whales whose common name is after a woman.

Year of Discovery: In August 2019, formal identification of the new species was made by anatomy scientists based on several collected specimens, including skulls. But it wasn’t until May 2021 that the first in depth series of encounters in the wild occurred (23 over a period of several days with groups of Sato’s beaked whales.)

Location of Discovery: Nemuro Strait, between Hokkaido and Kunashir Island

Native Region: Full range unknown, but definitely Hokkaido Island and Nemuro Strait, which lies between Japan and the Kuril Islands, currently owned by Russia; Nemuro Strait, Sakhalin Island, and Kunashir Island, Russia; Unalaska Island, and a few from the Alaska Peninsula, Alaska.

Number of Times Spotted: 23 initial sightings, and a few more since then. Still a fairly rare whale and spotted maybe a total of only a few dozen times.

Population Size: Total population size is unknown, but considered rare and near threatened.

Evidence of Existence: Genetic (as noted above) and morphological, based on the skulls and other materials from strandings.

Background and Notable Facts: Now known to be a smaller species related to Baird’s beaked whale (same genus) but every species is its own unique world. Probably similar diet as Baird’s. There are a few natural history notes of what they are like compared to Baird’s in the Fedutin et al paper 2022. 

Cultural Significance: Prior to modern-day discovery, certainly for half a century, but possibly much longer, this whale was known as a form of Baird’s beaked whales, particularly amongst Japanese whalers. They called it karasu, the raven whale.

Future Research: Our team is continuing to do research on this whale to learn more about what they eat, how many there are — at least in the areas where we’re working — how they communicate with each other (acoustic studies), and about their habitat. Determining whether the same individuals are living in the same areas, or returning year after year, and identifying their precise habitat will be essential to protecting the species.

Learn more about Erich's work at ErichHoytBooks.com and marinemammalhabitat.org

Expert: Anton van Helden | Senior Marine Science Advisor at the Department of Conservation in New Zealand

Baleen or Toothed: Toothed

Location of Discovery: Pitt Island, Chatham Islands, New Zealand

Native Region: Full range unknown, probably follows the pattern for other southern hemisphere Ziphiids, with a circumpolar distribution 

Existence First Noted: Existence was first noted by John E. Gray in London, on reading the description of a jawbone and teeth described by Sir James Hector, noting that no common name was offered at the time. That came when the species was resurrected in 2002.

Number of Times Spotted: This whale has still not been seen alive at sea to date. Only seven records of this species exist anywhere in the world, and there are only three known instances in which the whales have washed ashore as of 2010.

Population Size: Unknown

Evidence of Existence: Molecular and morphological 

Background and Notable Facts: 

• Nearly 150 years after James Hector's first findings, scientists confirmed that the three animals previously reported were not three separate species, but all part of the same group, marking a new, unique species. 
• The spade-toothed beaked whale is one o the rarest in existence.
• There are only 24 known species of beaked whales, or Ziphiidae. 
• It is unknown if this species migrates like other whales; however, it seems they spend the majority of their time underwater — beaked whales hold the record for the deepest and longest breath holding, diving mammal on Earth, spending hours in the dark depths of the ocean in search of food. 
• Dissection of evidence has shown that squid is likely a part of the spade-toothed diet.

Cultural Significance: Traditional ownership of these whales when beached belongs to the rūnanga, whose rohe, tribal boundary, is where the stranding occurred. Whales are considered sacred taonga, or treasures, in Māori culture, and the collaborative dissection of these specimens between scientists and local Indigenous Māori is crucial to the integrity of the taonga. The recent dissection performed by van Helden and members of the Whakatōhea Iwa Māori is a testament to how the marriage or science and traditional practices is essential to honor the natural world while advancing our understanding of it.

Future Research: In December of 2024, Anton van Helden (from DOC), Kane Fleury from Tūhura Otaga Museum and their team, alongside members of the Ōtākou Rūnaka, and Mātauranga Māori experts from NgātiWai, participated in the first-ever dissection of a beached specimen, the results of which will continue to reveal clues into the biology, genetics, lifestyle, and diet of the rarest whale on Earth.

Expert: Dr. Keith D. Mullin | Research Fishery Biologist, Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA

Baleen or Toothed: Baleen

Year of Discovery: 1965

Formally Described as a Species: 2021

Who Made the Discovery: The late Dale W. Rice was the first to report the presence of baleen whales, then thought to be Bryde's whales, in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists began collecting data during NOAA shop surveys initiated in the early 1990s. 

Location of Discovery and Native Region: Gulf of Mexico

Number of Times Spotted: No precise number since the same whales can be sighted numerous times over multiple years. However, sightings have occurred on several occasions by scientists conducting ship or aerial-based surveys and opportunistically by the public from pleasure and fishing vessels. 

Population Size: Likely fewer than 100 individuals 

Evidence of Existence: Visual sightings and photographs, genetic (skin samples), morphological (skull and bone structure), and acoustic.

Background and Notable Facts: 

• Rice's whales are closely related to Bryde's whales, which occur in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
• Rice's whale is the only resident baleen whale in the Gulf, but there have been strandings of Rice's whales on the US Atlantic coast. 
• Rice's whale is listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act and protected under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act. 

Cultural Significance: We do not know about the historic significance of Rice's whales. However, Indigenous people may have used the meat, oil from blubber, and bone from the occasional stranding of a whale, depending on its condition. There is evidence that they were infrequently targeted by whalers hunting sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico during the 1800s. 

Future Research: We are still looking to understand the full extent of their distribution, seasonality, and their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions and human impacts. 

Given Rice's whales' low numbers and endangered status, they require targeted attention through science-based conservation and public outreach. Through responsible study techniques, we can better understand the species, reduce risks, and accelerate the recovery of this iconic Gulf whale. 

Our objective is to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for population recovery in close partnership with the Gulf costal community and relevant stakeholders. A thriving Rice's whale population symbolizes a healthy Gulf ecosystem.