05.09.2018 – Sperm whale festival

What is the fascination about whale and dolphin watching? Why do we go out every day looking out for marine mammals? What do our guests expect from a trip?

Clearly, we all love the animals. Their intelligence and sociality are impressive, the beauty and sheer power of their appearance is intriguing. We are curious to get a short glimpse into their lives which is hidden most of the time far out on the ocean and beneath the waves, far away from our everyday life. It´s also the rarity of sightings and our own imagination triggering our interest.

There is one species which might symbolize this “oceanic conspiracy” more than any other – the Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Their prehistoric look with the enormous head and oddly shaped back, their way of life by hunting in the darkest deep sea, their unpredictable occurrence as well as their gigantic size and unbelievable strength… They are truly inspiring creatures!

An encounter with Sperm whales can be very quick if the animals are on their way down and disappear for up to one hour. But with a bit of luck it is possible to see them coming in close to the boat. Sometimes we meet those inquisitive animals.

One of these moments has been at the end of our afternoon trip on Ribeira Brava today. A Sperm whale came very close. It seemed like he wanted to say, “Good bye!”, to us, but especially to our well appreciated guest Sonja, Anja and Silvana who joined us on lots of trips during the last two weeks. We will miss you onboard, greetings from the whole Lobosonda team!

by Jan-Christopher Fischer

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 (refueling tour) Flying fish, Mediterranean monk seal

17:00 Sperm whales, Bottlenose dolphins

Stenella

12:00 Sperm whales, Sei whales, Bottlenose dolphins

15:30 Sperm whales, Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales