False killer whale movements tracked off NT coast (Australia)

False killer whales normally live in waters more than 200 metres deep.

Thursday, May 8^th, 2014 (Jesse Dorsett). Marine scientists in the Northern Territory hope radio trackers will help unlock a mystery surrounding false killer whales in the Top End.

The mammals, which belong to the dolphin family, have been spotted in the shallows of the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park north-east of Darwin.

False killer whales normally live in waters more than 200 metres deep.

To understand the irregularity, scientists have attached radio trackers to four of the dolphins.

Researcher Carol Palmer said over the past 30 days they had travelled hundreds of kilometres across the Top End.

“So they’re kind of like a true Territorian, these false killers,” she said.

“They travel long distances and they’re fishers, all they want to do is catch big fish basically.”

Ms Palmer suspects there are two varieties of false killer whales, one that inhabits the deep and another that plays and hunts in the shallows.

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