02.12.2019 – Island of rainbows

The sky was slightly overcast with several, scattered rain showers trailing along the coastline as our Ribeira Brava set out to sea this morning. The beautiful scene was accentuated by a phenomenon that we see fairly often on this special island; rainbows. These colourful bridges of light are a common sight on the island since weather conditions can be quite dynamic and a mixture of sunshine and rain can be expected. I have truly never been in a place in my life where I’d seen so many rainbows.

But Madeira isn’t just the island of rainbows; several whales and dolphins also like to roam the area and are an anticipated sighting out on the Atlantic, come rain or shine. Today we had the pleasure of encountering Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), a familiar lineup for the islands waters with several reports of resident groups in both species. The relationship of these wonderful creatures to the islands waters makes them suitable ecological indicators for the health of marine ecosystems around the island. Since top predators are considered as regulators in natural systems, understanding their population dynamics gives a lot of information on the network of life surrounding them. Local scientists are currently putting this theory into practice with the help of scientists from around Macaronesia, to help understand more about the communities of these mammals around our island of rainbows and all the other archipelagos.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales