False killer whale helps study of hearing, echolocation

Kina the pseudorca (Pseudorca crassidens) at Coconut Island. Image courtesy of HIMB.

A pseudorca (Pseudorca crassidens), also called a false killer whale, is helping scientists at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) on Coconut Island with some very important research. Scientists say Kina is friendly, patient and incredibly smart — and the only false killer whale in the world dedicated to research. “We primarily look at the hearing and echolocation of dolphins and whales. We are really interested in how the animals hear and how they’re affected by loud sounds,” said Paul Nachtigall, director of the HIMB’s Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP).

Read more about it and watch the video at KHON2.