09.07.2023 – (With)out

Rain clouds billowed over the sea on this gray morning. However, the sea was calm and our sighting was gentle, beautiful and touching. A small group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) enjoyed themselves in the bow wave of the Ribeira Brava. Something did stand out, however. While five animals were clearly stained, there were two that were not yet stained. The calves of the Spotted dolphin are from birth uniformly gray with a white belly. Over time, the juveniles develop black spots in the abdominal area and white spots in the gray areas. With age, the Spotted dolphin becomes more and more mottled. This stain pattern is beautiful to look at.

A Portuguese man-o-war (Physalia physalis) also floated on the calm sea. What appears to be a single animal is made up of colonies of polyps. The individual animals of the different polyp strains specialize in different areas of activity, such as defense, food intake and reproduction.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins

Stenella

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Blainville beaked whales

14:00 no sighting

17:00 Blainville beaked whales