03.09.2026 – Swimming in sync

Today, on two trips, we encountered rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis). One thing that immediately stands out is how often these dolphins can be seen swimming very close together, almost shoulder to shoulder, and moving in perfect synchrony.

Two, three or more dolphins can coordinate their movements so precisely that they almost seem like a single animal. They dive at the same time, surface together and change direction almost simultaneously. Such close formations and synchronized movements have been described several times in rough-toothed dolphins.

Rough-toothed dolphins live in social groups that can be made up of smaller subgroups. These subgroups can repeatedly come together or separate from one another.

They use clicks to echolocate underwater. Researchers suspect that when dolphins swim in such closely synchronized formations, some individuals may actively scan their surroundings using echolocation, while others may be able to use the returning echoes produced by their companions. This could allow them to gather information about possible prey without having to produce clicks themselves all the time. However, this theory has not yet been fully confirmed.

Rough-toothed dolphins are one of the dolphin species we still know relatively little about. Their social structure, communication and many aspects of their behaviour are not yet as well understood as those of species such as bottlenose dolphins.

During our sighting, we were also spot a rough-toothed dolphin carrying a small research tag. Such tags can collect different types of data about an animal’s behaviour and provide researchers with important information.

And with every sighting and the data we collected along the way, we also contribute to learning more about these wonderful animals.

by Malina Labowsky 

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Short-finned pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins

13:00 Short-finned pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphin

Steno

09:30 Short-finned pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins

13:30 Short-finned pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphin

16:30 No sightings