Cuvier's beaked whale is pelagic, generally inhabiting waters deeper than 300 m (1,000 ft), though it has been observed closer to shore on occasion.

[10] Later, in 1850, paleontologist and zoologist Paul Gervais found the skull to be identical to that of a stranded (beached) whale carcass he had just examined.

Adult males show a contrasted uniform white cape which usually extends to the dorsal fin zone.

The majority of adult females show a "soft" cluster of pigmentation features characterized by a brownish coloration and a shorter contrasting white cape.

The scars are thought, by researchers, to be from battles with males, predators, fights with squid, or cookiecutter sharks, which may score them or punch holes directly in their sides.

[18] Their head is short and blunt, with a gradually sloping forehead, a small, poorly defined beak, and a slight melon.

In profile, their small, softly defined rostrum gives them the nickname or alternative name of goose-beaked whale.

[23] Cuvier's beaked whale holds the records for both the deepest and the longest dives ever documented for any mammal;[24] in 2014, scientists reported that Cuvier's beaked whale, off the coast of California, dove to 9,816 ft (2,992 m) below the ocean's surface, becoming the deepest documented dive for any mammal.

[9][27] Supervising scientist Nicola Hodgkins noted that "the recorded dive-time of more than three hours is likely not typical, and instead the result of an individual pushed to its absolute limits".

During shallow dives, Cuvier's beaked whales tend to be silent, possibly to avoid predators.

[23] Exposure to high-frequency noises from anthropogenic sources, such as Navy sonar or explosives testing, appears to disrupt their behavior and has been linked to multiple mass stranding events, affecting hundreds of beaked whales.

There is evidence that Cuvier's beaked whales make highly coordinated foraging dives in small social groups.

[31][32] It appears that Cuvier's beaked whale prefers diving deep and using a suction process to acquire fish.

[35][36] This means the whale can use sound waves to locate potential sources of food, which is helpful in the deep sea, where there is no sunlight.

This deep diving with echolocation seems to help Cuvier's beaked whales avoid competition for their prey.

[38] Prey of Cuvier's beaked whales include Cranchiidae, Onychoteuthidae, Brachioteuthidae, Enoploteuthidae, Octopoteuthidae, and Histioteuthidae, as well as deep-sea fish.

The shrimp and most of the squid were seemingly bathypelagic, and the fish were giant grenadiers off the benthopelagic ocean bottoms.

An estimated 80,000 are in the eastern tropical Pacific, nearly 1,900 are off the west coast of the United States (excluding Alaska), and more than 15,000 are off Hawaii.

[42] As of 2019[update] this was rejected on the basis that there was insufficient scientific evidence to consider them a distinct population segment (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).