Population

Population threats

Currently, there’s a huge number of threats to this species' population. Thus, the dwarf sperm whales are exposed to ship strikes due to their habit of floating motionless at the surface. As deep-diving whales, they are highly threatened by underwater sounds and anthropogenic noise, which are very dangerous to these animals. Another big threat is entanglement and incidental by-catch due to interaction with fisheries and, particularly, drift gillnets. Living near seashore, they are threatened by human activities and pollution in a form of marine debris: some stranded specimens have been found with blocked intestinal tracks because of ingesting garbage such as plastic, while others have had serious health problems, including degenerative heart disease, immune system problems and heavy parasite infestations.

Population number

According to the IUCN Red List, the global population size of the Dwarf sperm whale is unknown for today. However, specific populations have been estimated in some areas: off Hawaii - 19,172 whales; the northern Gulf of Mexico – 742 whales; the western North Atlantic – 395 whales; the eastern tropical Pacific - 150,000 whales. Currently, Dwarf sperm whales are classified as Data Deficient (DD) on the IUCN Red List.