03.07.2026 – Dancer
July 9, 2026
After a game of hide and seek, we had a beautiful sighting of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). Everyone on the boat could witness the beauty of these marine animals, the calves were playing together !
There are two species of pilot whales : the short-finned and the long-finned Pilot whales. The short-finned, found all-year round in Madeira, prefer warm temperate-tropical waters. The long-finned pilot whales inhabit colder waters.
Pilot whales are the second largest of the dolphin family after the orcas. Their name comes from the belief that each observed group was escorted by a pilot or leader. Their scientific name Globicephala means round head, which is one of their main attribute, which we could clearly see as they approached our boat.
They are highly social animals, rarely seen alone. Their social bonds are strong and they live in tightly-knit units, in stable matriarchal groups. One question that was asked was how many individuals can be in a group ? The average group size is 20 individuals but they can form larger groups of 100 individuals for mating purposes.
But why cheetah of the ocean? Pilot whales got this nickname from studies showing that they can reach great speed especially when hunting in the depth of the ocean : up to 9 m/s.
It is always a delight to witness these very intelligent animals in their environment and to see how strong their bonds are.
By Juliette Colançon
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:00 Short-finned pilot whales
13:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales
Steno
09:30 Short-finned pilot whales
16:30 Blainville’s beaked whales, Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales
