04.08.2018 – A captain with a very good hand

Today was a difficult day at sea. Yes, that too exists from time to time. In the morning we met a small group of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), who swam very quietly and kept their distance. Closer to the boat we had three mother-calf pairs. The little dolphins looked curiously in our direction.

In the afternoon the same situation, a small group of distancing Bottlenose dolphins. Afterwards, our guests waited with great patience for the Blainville Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon densirostris). A short appearance and they were gone. The attempt to find the Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) previously sighted was unfortunately unsuccessful.

But then came our big moment! On the way back, almost at the harbor, from our boat we sighted the previous group of Blainville Beaked whales. Two things came together perfectly: these pre-historic looking whales were well-disposed to us AND Filipe has once again shown the best intuition for these shy beings. They appeared close behind our boat and swam calmly towards us. The little Blainville whale calf kept to Mom’s side. What a wonderful experience! Even if Filipe says it was just lucky … I know better: Filipe has a very, very good hand for these restrained animals. Why are Blainville Beaked whales, actually called Blainville Beaked whales? Many discoverers name a new discovery after themselves. So also in this case, the French zoologist in 1817 described these animals first on the basis of a pine find.

 Thank you, dear guests of today, for your patience!

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins

15:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Blainville Beaked whales

Stenella

09:00 Bottlenose dolphins

15:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Blainville Beaked whales