09.07.2026 – Familiar faces in far away places

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have fascinated mankind since time immemorial and a big reason for this is their incredibly adaptive nature. Firstly this feature contributes to their wide distribution; the genus Tursiops is founding in almost all the world’s oceans with oceanic and coastal ecotypes roaming their respective habitats. Coastal ecotype populations are the ones that we know the most about due to their proximity to inhabited coastal areas. Their adaptive nature has also made them a favourite for captivity which obviously is terrible for this highly mobile and intelligent species.

Here in Madeira they roam wild and free, and they don’t necessarily stick around Madeira. In fact our resident population moves between Madeira and the Canary Islands, covering an enormous area that proves just how active these incredible predators are. While pictures of the dorsal fin were significant in mapping the distribution of these dolphins, researchers in the Adriatic had discovered that the different facial features of individual dolphins can also serve this purpose. Here, facial recognition software was used and showed that calves also bear close resemblance to their mothers.

This often means that we see many familiar faces in our resident population and highlights the different methods that can be applied in photo ID. With Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) for example, scientists often use the spot pattern in adult animals. Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) dorsal fins remain the important feature, while Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are identified by the scales on their cheeks.

This all just shows what a non-invasive and versatile tool photo ID can be when it comes to studying these fascinating animals.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead turtle

13:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead turtle

16:30 No sightings

Steno

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Bryde’s whale

16:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Striped dolphins