01.11.2018 – Whale waste matters
November 19, 2018
03.11.2018 – A fintastic day
November 21, 2018
The beginning of November relieved us from a very difficult week with small numbers of animals and rewarded our patience with three of our favorite cetaceans; Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).
Pilot whales and Sperm whales are frequent visitors around the island, simultaneously enjoying the sheltered waters of the archipelagos coastline and the steep gradient of its underwater canyons, that allow them to engage in deep foraging dives. In between their hunting sessions, both animals remain rather lethargic at the surface in a behaviour known as „logging“. Here the animal literally just floats and hangs around amongst its peers, occasionally displaying social behavior involving alot of body contact.
In contrast, the active Bottlenose dolphins show behaviours that are just as dynamic as their ever-changing population structure around the island. These intelligent animals gently rode the waves of our bow before quickly disappearing and then eventually returning again. Dolphins generally hunt at the surface and don’t engage in deeper dives unless they’re absolutely necessary.
It simply never gets boring during sightings with these animals and we look forward to what the transition season still has in store for us!
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales
14:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales
Stenella
10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales
15:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales, Sperm whale
