Cetaceans are magnificent animals, whose charisma and charm certainly don’t need to be overelaborated or romanticised in order to communicate the need of protecting them. We love it when guests take a genuine interest in the animals and hope that our fact-based explanations as well as our dedication to doing a good and responsible job at sea helps magnify this. Like our guests, we always hope for the best before a tour and often secretly wonder what may be out there “waiting” for us. One of our captains joked today that sometimes the Atlantic feels like “big brother”, a watchful omnipresent being that hears our thoughts and conversations on land and then rewards (or punishes) us at sea.
Today our team had three wonderful tours with fantastic sightings which included groups of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and a wonderful surprise encounter with an enormous baleen whale. Larger cetaceans are obviously at the top of everyone’s wishlist and a conversation with one of the guests ahead of our afternoon tour had me envisioning an encounter with one of these gentle giants at sea. The enormous spout and elegantly streamline body allowed us to assume that it was a Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). We didn’t, however, manage to spot the species characteristic asymmetrical cheek colouring on the individual and further examination of our photos after the tour allowed us to assume that it may have been a Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis).
What a lovely end to the day! We hope our guests on board all three tours enjoyed the sightings and extensive information from our guides! As for any potential future guests out there; keep your expectations humble and hopes high before a tour. Remember, big brother Atlantic is watching you!
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins
Stenella
10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins
15:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins, Unidentified baleen whale
