04.05.2023 – The force

The power of cetaceans is astonishing! Their intelligence and charisma are often so distracting that we forget the sheer power of the animals we are encountering. Today our boats met some of the fastest, acrobatic and most powerful visiting Madeira and the animals put these attributes on full display during our sightings.

The beautiful Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) were seen on all tours today and took a break from their fast travels to engage in a little bow-ride every time. These curious dolphins are also extremely fast and are known to accelerate up to 60km/h, a speed that our zodiac can often barely keep up with! Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) aren’t as fast but are strong, acrobatic cetaceans that often leap 2-3m into the air during a sighting.We finalised the day with a sighting of two Sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis), the fastest of the baleen whales, that were briskly swimming westward. These whales can reach speeds of up to 35km/h, an incredible speed for the third largest baleen whale. 

Amongst all these incredible sightings was a peaceful sighting with some Blainville’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris). These cetaceans don’t jump or swim fast at the surface but discreetly go about their business in the deep, where they use their powerful sonar to track down prey and socialise. Biosonar is used by all toothed whales but particularly important for deep divers like beaked whales, where its multifaceted use almost comparable with the omnipresent “force” from the star wars movies. 

Considering that and all our encounters today, I can only finalise the blog with the following line: May the fourth be with you!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Blainville’s beaked whales, Short-beaked common dolphins

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

Stenella

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whales, Short-beaked common dolphins

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

16:00 Sei whales, Short-beaked common dolphins