Adults can reach lengths of to and weigh about 2.32 to 3.48 tons. At birth they may be about long. They are robust and large-bodied for beaked whales, having a bluff melon and a long, dolphin-like beak. It is the only species of ziphiid with a full set of functional teeth. Adult males also have a pair of tusks at the tip of the lower jaw. They are dark brown dorsally and cream-colored ventrally, with a pale band extending up from the flipper and another pale area extending as a swathe on the posterior flank. The tall, falcate dorsal fin is set about two-thirds the way along the back.
Population and distribution
No population estimates exist for Shepherd's beaked whale. As of 2006, there have been about 42 stranding records of the species from New Zealand, Argentina, Tristan da Cunha, Australia, and the Juan Fernández Islands. There have been five unconfirmed sightings, as well as a "probable" sighting near Shag Rocks and four confirmed sightings—the first two confirmed sightings occurred in 1985, within a few minutes of each other, off the Tristan da Cunha group ; the third in 2002 near Gough Island ; and the fourth in 2004 south of Tasmania. In January 2012, a group of up to a dozen of this species were photographed and filmed by the Australian Antarctic Division south of Portland, Victoria. In 2016, at least two groups were observed on Taiaroa sea canyon off Otago Peninsula and this was the first confirmed sighting within New Zealand waters.
Behaviour
Four of the confirmed sightings of this species involved three to six individuals in waters from to deep, while a 2012 sighting involved as many as ten to twelve individuals. The animals surfaced several times, giving a "small, bushy" blow, before arching to dive. Some were observed to come to the surface at a steep angle like many other ziphiids, raising their head and beaks out of the water. The species is seldom seen because of its deep, offshore distribution in waters where sighting conditions can be difficult. Research done on a stranded individual's stomach has indicated that Shepherd's beaked whales eat both fish and squid, as opposed to most beaked whales which only eat cephalopods.
Conservation
There are no reports of this species being hunted or killed accidentally by humans. Shepherd's beaked whale is covered by the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region.
