Maryland mammals

Pygmy Sperm Whale in Maryland

Kogia breviceps

Native to Maryland

Not listed as nonindigenous in Maryland by USGS NAS; native to its Maryland range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: Daniel Benák · CC BY 4.0Live pygmy sperm whales logging at the sea surface, backs and dorsal fins exposedPhoto: Daniel Benák · CC BY 4.0Two live pygmy sperm whales logging at the sea surface off a coastal village, dorsal fins exposedPhoto: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová · CC BY 4.0Live pygmy sperm whale surfacing at the water line in calm hazy water

Photo: Daniel Benák · CC BY 4.0Live pygmy sperm whales logging at the sea surface, backs and dorsal fins exposedPhoto: Daniel Benák · CC BY 4.0Two live pygmy sperm whales logging at the sea surface off a coastal village, dorsal fins exposedPhoto: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová · CC BY 4.0Live pygmy sperm whale surfacing at the water line in calm hazy water

Pygmy Sperm Whale in Maryland, by the numbers

Occasional in Maryland 45th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in Maryland

24 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Pygmy Sperm Whale in Maryland

Most sightings fall in September.

24 Maryland occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Maryland records (table)

Month	Records
January	0
February	0
March	0
April	0
May	0
June	0
July	3
August	1
September	17
October	0
November	2
December	1

Monthly pygmy sperm whale occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Maryland, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Maryland, with recorded sightings peaking in September.

Occurrence map

Where Pygmy Sperm Whale has been recorded in Maryland

24 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

23 Maryland records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Assateague Island National Seashore	1

Protected places with the most pygmy sperm whale sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Maryland

County	Records
Worcester County	17
Other localities	7

The complete county distribution, spread across 1 Maryland counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Pygmy sperm whale is a deep-diving, deliberately elusive species that almost never approaches shore voluntarily, so Maryland’s records near Assateague Island and the bay refuges most likely represent strandings rather than live at-sea sightings. NatureServe carries no ranked status for the species here.

Records concentrate in July and spike sharply in September at 17, a pattern that in a stranding-driven record set says more about when animals wash ashore than any true seasonal presence offshore.

Full species profile Pygmy Sperm Whale Kogia breviceps Size 2.7–4 m8.9–13.1 ft Weight 320–450 kg705.5–992.1 lb Lifespan Up to 17 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Maryland in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"