01.07.2019 – We flicked through our Lobosonda species book

Published by Fatima Kutzschbach on July 8, 2019

Today, it’s almost (!) easier to enumerate what we did not see than all the species we saw. As we flicked through our Lobosonda species book on boat, we found that we could turn over, one page at a time and could always say “We saw this species”… well, we skipped a page once …and well we did not see all the possible species 😉 … but for sure, six different kind of dolphins on a tour is a great start into July!

Here’s a big thank you to our spotter, Carlos Drumond from all guests and clearly from the crew too 😉

And now a mini-quiz!

Two of the species we saw prefer squid … who could that be?
A species lives in matriarchy .. who is lead by a female?
Two types of dolphins have “long and short relationships” … which once could that be?
Who has a melon … and what was this again?

(resolution at the end 😉 )

Our ride started quite calm. At some distance we observed Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus), which were not easily observed by their typical swimming style, always just below the surface of the water. These squid lovers were shy, as usual but it was still nice to have these unique animals around.

There was a widely distributed group of Short-Beaked Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). The animals were traveling alone or in small groups. To our delight, there were a few approaches of these dolphins to the boat.

Our third kind of dolphins were more alert! Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), unusually sociable, took the chance to race with Stenella.

The Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), following, seemed gigantic. A small subgroup did not miss to say hello.

As is so often the case, the Bottlenose dolphins were seen near a school of Short-finned Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). Also this group was widely distributed in various subgroups. Maybe some of these subgroups were looking for squid? We had a group of juveniles and females near the boat. In one of the photos you can clearly see that one of the youngsters took a close look at us. The companion was a big, strong animal with a very powerful dorsal fin, it looked like a male … but the boss in such a group is and always is a female.

The lively, fun-loving Atlantic Spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) left the last and a very lasting impression on our guests, big and small.

All six species have one thing in common, they are all dolphins and therefore hunt with bio-sonar.

It was awesome, just awesome! 🙂

Quiz answers.

1. Risso’s dolphins + Pilot whales

2. Pilot whales

3.Short- and Long Beaked Common dolphins + Short – and Long Fined Pilot whales

4. All dolphins have a fat lens, called melon, in their head over which the sonar is emitted.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Common dolphins