10.09.2025 – Spy hops and species variation

The day started with quite interactive Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). We saw the Short-finned pilot whales spy hopping quite a bit. Spy hopping is a behaviour for which the animals poke their heads vertically out of the water which allows them to observe their surroundings. Some species do this to locate their prey but in this case they were what we like to call people watching. It also shows off the roundness of their heads which is incredibly cute.

Sightings in the late afternoon switched out the species completely with Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris). As Cuvier’s beaked whales spend around 67 % of their lives in waters deeper than 1000 m these animals are incredibly difficult to observe which makes any sightings of these animals quite exciting.

By Hannah Carstens

Sightings of the Day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

Stenella

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

16:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Cuvier’s beaked whales