Notes on New Zealand mammals 6.: Second report on the stomach contents of long-finned pilot whales, Globicephala melas

We report data on the stomach contents of the long-finned pilot whale, Globicephala melas, recovered from a group of whales stranded on Ruakaka Beach, northeastern New Zealand, in November 2006. In nine whales for which identifiable stomach contents were recovered (three that stranded on 10 November and six that stranded on 11 November) prey remains comprised exclusively cephalopod beaks attributed to five squid species. The stomachs of a further two whales contained unidentifiable upper beaks only, while the stomachs of five whales were completely empty. No whale appeared to have been satiated immediately before stranding, given that the maximum biomass of prey recently consumed by any one whale was calculated to be <5 kg. All squids ingested represented oceanic species, found from 50 to 1000 m but more common towards the deeper end of this range. These data both complement and contrast with the only other dietary information available for this species in New Zealand waters, reported from stomach contents of whales stranded on Farewell Spit, South Island in December 2005.