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Pygmy killer whale
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==Conservation== Pygmy killer whales have been incidental [[bycatch]] in fishing operations. They represent as much as 4% of the cetacean bycatch in [[Gillnetting|drift gill nets]] used by commercial fisheries in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Alling|first=Abigail|date=1998|title=A Preliminary Report of the Incidental Trapping of Odontocetes by Sri Lanka's Coastal Driftnet Fishery|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=85 |issue=3}}</ref> Like other cetaceans, they are hosts to parasitic worms such as [[Cestoda|cestodes]] and [[nematode]]s. The cestode species, ''Trigonocotyle sexitesticulae,'' was first discovered in the corpse of a pygmy killer whale.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hoberg|first=Eric|date=1989-07-11|title=Trigonocotyle sexitesticulae sp.nov. (Eucestoda: Tetrabothriidae): a parasite of pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata)|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=68 |issue=9|pages=1835β1838|doi=10.1139/z90-263}}</ref> A pygmy killer whale found stranded on the coast of New Caledonia died from parasitic [[encephalitis]] caused by nematodes. They are also victims of opportunistic [[Cookiecutter shark|cookie cutter sharks]].<ref name=":3" /> Pygmy killer whales are occasionally involved in [[Cetacean stranding|mass strandings]]. As seen in other cetaceans, these strandings often involve a sick or injured individual; even when pushed back out to the sea by rescuers, the healthy individuals will often strand again and refuse to leave until the death of the individual in declining health.<ref name=":3" /> The pygmy killer whale is classified as [[least concern]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|IUCN]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> They are covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas ([[ASCOBANS]]) and the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area ([[ACCOBAMS]]). The species is further included in the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Conservation of the Manatee and Small Cetaceans of Western Africa and Macaronesia ([http://www.cms.int/species/waam/index.htm Western African Aquatic Mammals MoU]) and the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region ([[Pacific Islands Cetaceans Memorandum of Understanding|Pacific Cetaceans MoU]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ascobans.org/en/species|title=Species|website=ASCOBANS|access-date=2016-03-21}}</ref>
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