02.11.2024 – Are we lucky?

We were surrounded by Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) today. The ocean conditions were not ideal, and we were afraid of having to cancel our afternoon trips. But luckily, the Sperm whales decided to take a break from their feeding routine in the afternoon closeby the coast – making it possible for us to reach them despite the windy conditions. Feeding makes up about 75% of a Sperm whale’s daytime, and a feeding cycle means  45 min long dives for squid in the depth, only interrupted by 5 to 10 minutes on the surface to fill up on oxygen for the next dive. Instead of this routine, the whales spend extended time on the surface. It was family time if you will. Sperm whale females live in very strong social units together with their young and need to spend some time once in a while to socialize. There is lots of touching each other and twisting and turning involved. We observed lots of large whale heads popping out of the water. It is not always easy to understand what you are seeing when you are privileged enough to encounter such a situation. One thing is sure though – the whales were using the family moment to talk. We could even hear the chatter of clicks on board without using the hydrophones! I could see the smiles and marveled faces of our guests. Still, it was today that I heard the question several times – Are we lucky today? We are lucky, aren’t we? I guess this was just our guests’ way of assuring what a wonderful time they had. Because we are lucky every day, being out on the open ocean and during any wildlife encounter we have. I have to admit, today was an outstanding day indeed.

 by Sarah Kather

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins,  Sperm whales

Stenella 

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins,  Sperm whales