Susan E. Kinzer, age 8, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for her question:

What is a pilot whale?

A pilot, of course, guides a ship or a plane. The pilot whale lives in the sea but no sailor would trust him to pilot a ship. What's more, though he is a member of the whale ftmily, he is not really a whale. The pilot whale is a black and white dolphin, maybe 28 feet long. Like all dolphin, he is a fast and wonderful swimmer  and he loves company. He romps through the salty seas with a troupe of hundreds of his friends and relatives.

Dolphins are smart fellows and in mostways the pilot whale also is very bright. But he has one silly habit that often costs him his life. He loves to follow the leader of the troupe. He follows along, even when the leader pilots the troupe into trouble. If the leader runs aground, his comrades will plunge onto the beach after him. Sometimes fishermen drive the leader into a trap and dozens of his relatives follow the pilot.