This species generally lives far offshore, well away from coasts; however, where there is a narrow continental shelf, Shepherd’s Beaked Whales may sometimes occur in deep water close to shore. Information on this species is derived from a very limited number of verified sightings and a handful of strandings, therefore its habitat preferences remain poorly understood (Donnelly et al 2018). Almost all sightings in Australia (n=12) and New Zealand (n=6) were in continental slope waters with depths exceeding 310 m. Mean depth of all sightings was 1,208 ±871 m, and only one sighting (3,940 m) was recorded in waters deeper than 2,000 m (Donnelly et al. 2018). In Australia and New Zealand, observed group sizes ranged between 2 and 14 individuals.

Shepherd’s Beaked Whales are known to feed on several species of fish (primarily eelpouts), as well as squid and crabs, possibly near the bottom in deep waters. This seems somewhat unusual, as most Beaked Whales appear to feed almost exclusively on cephalopods.

Adults are between 6 and 7 m in length, and calves are still with their mother when they are 340 cm long (Mead 2018). One adult male had 23 growth layer groups in its teeth and was presumably 23 years old (Grandi et al. 2005).

Shepherd's Beaked Whales are primarily known from a few dozen strandings, all south of 30°S, around New Zealand, southern Australia, southern South America, the Juan Fernández Islands, and Tristan da Cunha (Mead 1989). Confirmed sightings have been from southern Australia and Tasmania, New Zealand, and oceanic waters of the South Atlantic (Donnelly et al. 2018, Pitman et al. 2006). To date, all at-sea observations accompanied by photographs to verify the species have been from regions south of 30°S (MacLeod et al. 2005) and north of 46°S, suggesting that the species has a circumpolar distribution in cold temperate waters of the southern hemisphere.

It is possible that the species is somewhat more widespread than the limited records suggest, since it was not likely to be accurately identified at sea until its recent re-description in 2006 (Pitman et al. 2006). According to Donnelly et al. (2018), in southern Australian and New Zealand waters Shepherd’s Beaked Whales are found between 33°S and 46°S, in areas that seasonally experience enhanced productivity, and are associated with waters of the mid to upper continental slope and/or submarine canyons (Donnelly et al. 2018).