04.12.2025 – One question twice
December 11, 2025
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are known to be selective about who they hang out with. Pod members are carefully selected individuals, based on factors that we consider when choosing our friends. These are usually animals in the same life cycle or similar in spirit and, if they feel a really special connection, some even become best friends and spend their lifetimes together. However, apart from those little subunits, the pod is loosely knit, with a high overturn in pod members. Some new members get recruited while others are cast out.
Our sighting this morning began with a single dolphin rushing west that was marked by a single petrel (Pterodroma) soaring over the high swell off the coast of Ponta do Pargo. We followed the animal carefully, hoping it wasn’t an outcast from a pod but its sudden confidence after a few minutes suggested that the rest of the gang wasn’t far away. While lone dolphins are known to approach marinas and interact with humans, such interactions usually only happen after a while and when the animal is certain that it is safe.
Sure enough, we managed to find the rest of the group and cruised alongside them until it was time to return back to the marina. Unfortunately the pod was too far away for our traditional boat, but the guests had a wonderful time anyway!
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:00 No sighting
Stenella
09:30 Bottlenose dolphins
