03.06.2025 – Sperm whales and stowaways

For most of today’s tours we just passed by our dolphins, the Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis) and Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) in search of Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). In the morning there was a brief Hammerhead shark (Sphyrnidae spp.) sighting and the day concluded with some Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) encounters.

My personal highlights today were the sperm whale encounters. We had a large group that was about for a couple of hours and allowed for some great sightings. We had a few beautiful tail fluke displays as animals were initiating deep dives, some impressive wave breaking and our captain Pedro even reported a rather smelly defecation right next to the Ribera Brava. The sperm whales left our guests and team in awe and we feel incredibly lucky to have these magnificent animals right outside Calheta from time to time.

A funny moment that is worth a mention, was the stowaway we had on our last trip on the Stenella. A crab hopped on board in the marina and went out for a ride with us, only to be discovered around eight nautical miles from shore. We found a nice rocky shore for our tiniest passenger just west of Calheta but failed to locate him to set him free. The crab came back to Calheta with us, lets hope he is back in the marina and not hidden in a passengers backpack.

By Hannah Carstens

Sightings of the Day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whales

13:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins, Sperm whales

Stenella

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whales, Bottlenose dolphins, Hammerhead shark

13:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins, Sperm whales

16:00 Short-finned pilot whales, Blainville’s beaked whales