▁wh ales , ▁with ▁the ▁M HI ▁community ▁being ▁the ▁most ▁abund ant . ▁ ▁Short - f inned ▁pilot ▁wh ales ▁are ▁among ▁the ▁most ▁frequently ▁encountered ▁cet ace ans ▁in ▁the ▁Can ary ▁Islands , ▁but ▁estimates ▁of ▁abund ance ▁are ▁not ▁available . ▁Records ▁suggest ▁they ▁are ▁also ▁abund ant ▁in ▁deep ▁water ▁off ▁the ▁west ▁coast ▁of ▁Africa , ▁around ▁the ▁M ald ives , ▁and ▁in ▁the ▁northern ▁Indian ▁Ocean ▁more ▁generally . ▁However , ▁despite ▁previous ▁study ▁efforts , ▁there ▁is ▁still ▁no ▁information ▁on ▁global ▁numbers ▁or ▁tr ends ▁for ▁this ▁species . ▁ ▁Th re ats ▁ ▁Natural ▁pred ators ▁and ▁str and ings ▁▁ ▁There ▁are ▁no ▁documented ▁cases ▁of ▁natural ▁pred ation ▁on ▁pilot ▁wh ales , ▁although ▁the ▁species ▁could ▁occasionally ▁be ▁target ed ▁by ▁k iller ▁wh ales ▁or ▁large ▁sh arks . ▁Most ▁of ▁the ▁data ▁on ▁pilot ▁wh ale ▁mort al ities ▁comes ▁from ▁mass ▁str and ing ▁events . ▁Pil ot ▁wh ales ▁are ▁often ▁involved ▁in ▁mass ▁str and ings ▁throughout ▁their ▁range , ▁with ▁several ▁well - document ed ▁inc idents ▁involving ▁do z ens ▁of ▁individuals ▁in ▁Australia , ▁the ▁Can ary ▁Islands , ▁and ▁the ▁U . S . ▁Many ▁theories ▁have ▁been ▁proposed ▁to ▁explain ▁these ▁events , ▁which ▁include ▁acc idents ▁in ▁navigation ▁that ▁lead ▁animals ▁to ▁unexpected ly ▁shall ow ▁waters , ▁anom al ies ▁in ▁the ▁earth ' s ▁geom agnet ic ▁fields ▁impact ing ▁navigation , ▁injury ▁or ▁dis