03.03.2022 – A little hunting party

Our zodiac drove far offshore this morning to meet a pod of hunting Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). When these dolphins hunt, things definitely don’t get boring! They leap high into the air after launching coordinated attacks on the small shoals of Halfbeaks (Belone belone) below the surface. All this was easy to follow on board our Stenella and one guest even managed to capture the spectacle from above using a drone. The fact that Halfbeaks turn up in small schools and remain very close to the surface makes them a difficult fish to track down, let alone hunt! The extremely nimble common dolphins have mastered hunts on these plantivorous fish and probably come here to hunt them in the first place.

The Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) we encountered towards the end of our tour didn’t venture far to pursue their prey. We found a tiny pod just a mile outside our marina and, despite our careful approach, the group paid little attention to us and were completely focused on their pursuit.

Despite the indifference of the second group of dolphins, our guests were thrilled at the entertaining sightings we were lucky to enjoy on todays tour!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins