05.06.2019 – Two trips – Two marvelous adventures
June 17, 2019
07.06.2019 – “Water telegram”
June 19, 2019
Nothing beats meeting some interactive dolphins after returning from a time-off. As our traditional boat split through the gusty Atlantic we were greeted by a large school of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) that instantly sped and leapt around the boat. The animals had only made a recent comeback to the waters of Madeira and, as seasonal visitors, only make their remarkable presence felt during the summer months. The spotted are beloved amongst both our guests and crew because of their notoriously cheeky, charismatic behaviour and their will to interact is second to none of that of the other species coming to Madeiras waters. They lived up to their curious reputation on todays tour and instantly sped towards us, fearlessly approaching our boat as we entered the sighting area.
The interactive nature of the spotted is also one of the reasons why it is possible for our company to offer snorkelling tours with this species. Our second snorkelling specie, the Short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) was encountered a short while afterwards. In contrast to the spotted, the commons were more careful in their approach with only a handful of individuals elegantly gliding through the waves at our bow. Out of nowhere, a small school of Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) materialised and crossed the path of the Ribeira Brava before speeding off in their usual swift, synchronised fashion. The Striped are an interesting oxymoron; despite being closely related to the interactive spotted dolphins they tend to behave evasively towards boats. The few exceptions occur when they are swimming alongside a more curious specie, such as the common dolphins, which probably prompted the single Striped dolphin at our bow to stick around a little longer.
If we could rank these dolphins according to their will to interact, from extremely curious to more evasive, I’d say we covered these three species in the right order of sightings today. What an interesting series of behaviour we were able to witness this afternoon!
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
13:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins, Striped dolphins
