Florida mammals

Sperm Whale in Florida

Physeter macrocephalus

Native to Florida SNR Unranked in Florida

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

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

VU – Vulnerable

High risk of extinction in the wild.

Sperm whale pod recoloredTwo sperm whales gliding beneath the surface, sunlight rippling across their mottled backsSperm whale exhaling a forward-angled blow at the surface of the open oceanSperm whale tail fluke raised high out of the water mid-dive, water streaming offSperm whale's back and dorsal hump breaking the surface near a whale-watching boat
Photo: Gabriel Barathieu · CC BY-SA 2.0Sperm whale pod recoloredPhoto: Gabriel Barathieu · CC BY-SA 2.0Two sperm whales gliding beneath the surface, sunlight rippling across their mottled backsPhoto: Marion & Christoph Aistleitner · CC0Sperm whale exhaling a forward-angled blow at the surface of the open oceanPhoto: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand · CC0Sperm whale tail fluke raised high out of the water mid-dive, water streaming offPhoto: Julien Savoie · CC BY 4.0Sperm whale's back and dorsal hump breaking the surface near a whale-watching boat

Sperm Whale in Florida, by the numbers

Rare in Florida 83rd most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

60 occurrence records
8 with iNaturalist photos
Mar 11, 2024 Last seen in Florida

60 total records count every Florida occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 59 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Sperm Whale in Florida

Most sightings fall in November.

59 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January3
February3
March5
April5
May3
June6
July4
August8
September1
October5
November11
December5

Monthly sperm whale occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida.

Seasonality

Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in November, with a smaller rise in August.

Occurrence map

Where Sperm Whale has been recorded in Florida

60 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

52 Florida records mapped

Where it's recorded in Florida

CountyRecords
St. Johns County 9
Miami-Dade County 4
Palm Beach County 3
Bay County 2
Charlotte County 2
Sarasota County 2
Gulf County 1
Volusia County 1
Lee County 1
Broward County 1
Indian River County 1
Manatee County 1
Brevard County 1
Other localities 31

The complete county distribution, spread across 13 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Florida has 60 sperm whale records, all logged through GBIF with none from iNaturalist, the most recent from March 2024. It’s native to Florida’s offshore waters and globally listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable, though NatureServe hasn’t given the state a numeric rank.

November stands out with 11 records, the year’s clear peak, followed by August with eight. Sperm whales dive to great depths and surface far from shore, so this pattern likely reflects stranding reports and chance encounters rather than a true migration signal.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Sperm whale pod recolored
Full species profile Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus Size 10.7–11 m35–36 ft Weight 13500–57000 kg29762.4–125663.6 lb Lifespan 70 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Florida 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