Burmeister's porpoise (spiny porpoise)

How it lives

Burmeister's porpoises are hard to watch. They are usually seen alone or in pairs, with occasional larger groups, and they surface briefly with little splash. They stay mostly in shallow coastal water and have been recorded up to about 50 km offshore. In Mejillones Bay in Chile, sound recordings showed that about 77 percent of feeding and echolocation clicks happened at night, so much of their feeding is out of sight. Mother and calf pairs were seen more often in spring and summer. The sources I opened do not give a lifespan.

Where it goes

Their range runs along the Pacific coast from northern Peru south to Tierra del Fuego and up the Atlantic coast to southern Brazil. They favour inshore waters such as bays and fjords. Detailed movement patterns are not well known. In a study off northern Peru, the highest densities were within 25 km of shore and in water 50 m deep or less.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

IUCN lists the species as Near Threatened (2018). The total is thought to be at least tens of thousands, but this is a rough guess. Fishing is the main concern. A survey off Salaverry in northern Peru in February 2023 estimated 1,696 porpoises (range 1,087 to 2,648) in a 3,500 sq km area. Interviews with gillnet fishers suggested about 420 caught each year in that area (range 210 to 700), about a quarter of the estimate, which the authors say is far above sustainable levels. Direct hunting for food and crab bait is reported to have continued in Peru until the late 1990s. In Mejillones Bay, Chile, a study estimated 76 animals. The species is on CMS Appendix II (since 1979).