07.10.2021 – The “guarantee” dilemma

Wildlife encounters can never be guaranteed. In vast natural spaces like the ocean, where marine life thrives across an enormous area, it’s impossible to predict what may await us during a tour. Not giving a guarantee ahead of the tour isn’t a way of making life less complicated for our team; we just aren’t fans of handing out promises that we may not be able to keep.

This morning the Atlantic generously offered our team a sighting with Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and our zodiac even drove far offshore to meet a group of Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Bottlenose dolphins generally prefer the waters. Along the coastline of Madeira, making them one of the species most susceptible to boat traffic near the shore. The animals were heading eastward during our sighting, so our spotter searched the waters further east for them for our afternoon trip aboard the Ribeira Brava. Hoping for the best and expecting a rather difficult trip, our team left the near empty waters in front of Calheta to search for animals in the east. The trip was long and hard; our spotter was struggling to get information on potential sightings in our search area while our crew at sea carefully scanned the ocean around us. Some gliding Cory’s shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) prompted us to check certain areas until we finally decided to gradually return to the marina.

Although we understand the reality of what we do, we dread nothing more than returning to the marina without a sighting. Another facet of that reality which also gives rise to this frustration, is the fact that we live in a world where everything is programmed and unique experiences are sold as being the norm. This can create unreal expectations; we damage our natural world yet we yearn for time in secluded, pristine places. We expect the ocean to deliver whilst giving her very little in return. Our team does its best to compensate by collecting scientific data as well as by raising awareness on the importance of life in our oceans and we can only hope that our guests take a piece of this with them and consider our beautiful ocean in all that they do.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins

14:30 No sighting

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales