Sperm Whale in Galápagos: Facts and Where to See It

The species name macrocephalus means big head. A large part of it is filled with spermaceti, an oil-rich tissue that produces powerful, focused clicks for echolocation and communication and helps the whale adjust its buoyancy. Scientists think the clicks might even stun prey. Below it sits the so-called junk, which spreads stress across the skull and may protect the head when males ram each other.

• Males and females. Males can weigh about 45 tonnes, almost three times the 15 tonnes of a female.
• Deep divers. They spend more than half their lives at 500 metres or deeper; only Cuvier's beaked whale dives deeper.
• Teeth. Up to 27 cm high on the lower jaw, for squid up to 13 metres long.

Sperm whales are among the whales seen in Galápagos all year round, alongside orcas and Bryde's whales; whales in general are found most often in the western waters, between Isabela and Fernandina. The Galapagos Conservation Trust names that channel as the best place to see sperm whales, while warning that whale watching here always takes some luck.

Guide sighting records list sperm whales at 2 sites, both in the deep channel off western Isabela: Punta Vicente Roca and Elizabeth Bay. Both are rated Rare, so a sighting is a stroke of luck during a crossing or a panga ride.

Sperm whales can be seen all year, but like all whale watching in Galápagos, it is best in the cooler months from July to November. In the next twelve months, 306 departures stop at a site where they are recorded.

They are listed as Vulnerable. Commercial whaling cut their numbers by 67 percent between 1880 and the 1990s. Large-scale whaling has ended, but small-scale whaling outside the Galápagos Marine Reserve, ship strikes and pollution remain threats. Inside the reserve they are protected, and worldwide the species is on CITES Appendix I.

1. Booking only the central islands. The channel off western Isabela is where sperm whales are recorded.
2. Expecting a sighting. Both sites are rated Rare.
3. Going below deck on crossings. The channel is crossed by boat, and that is when a whale may appear.