10.07.2022 – Yellow veil

A yellow veil of desert wind wafted around the island and over the sea today. Not optimal conditions to ensure a quick sighting. But it still happened quickly. Right at the beginning of our tour we saw a group of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that were spreading widely along the coast. They approached us a few times, but we didn’t seem that interesting to them. However, a small group was very interested in us and enjoyed testing the bow wave of the Ribeira Brava. It was a beautiful encounter of these big majestic dolphins in the blue of the ocean.

We left this group to observe a second species, the Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). This small, nimble dolphin species was, as almost always, very, very interactive. There were many animals with a number of offspring. It was very impressive.

Dolphins can be quite different in their behavior. Striped dolphins are mostly reserved. Atlantic spotted dolphins seem to enjoy observing people. Today we were able to observe the different behavior of the Bottlenose dolphins in the different groups. Sometimes they are reserved, sometimes very interactive.

In the afternoon things got exciting. A whale was announced. This tension in the air is tingling. It’s almost like a crime thriller. It turned out to be a Tropical whale (Balaenoptera edeni). First he slowly swam parallel to us through the water. Suddenly he showed himself really cuddly, turned on his back and showed us his stomach. What a special moment. Afterwards there were our spotted dolphins in top form, namely riding bow waves.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins

15:00 Tropical whale, Atlantic spotted dolphins

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins

14:00 Tropical whale, Bottlenose dolphins

17:00 Tropical whale, Atlantic spotted dolphins