13.08.2025 – Yay whales!

We had lovely encounters all day long. It started with Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis) and Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that were around until the rest of the day. In the afternoon, Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) made a show in our corner of the Atlantic. Everyone was very excited. We were lucky enough to observe several of these magnificent animals display their tail flukes as they initiated deep dives.

On one of the Stenella trips, Paula and Daniel found a squid, almost fully intact. These creatures we rarely see at the surface because they live in the deep sea and are the main prey for the deep-diving Sperm whales. Our team collected the already deceased animal and contacted local researchers that came in to take the squid to their labs. As these animals are difficult to encounter, spending most of their life out of reach, finding an individual that is nearly intact creates an interesting opportunity to study these elusive species.

Especially fun for me today, was the last trip on the Ribeira Brava. We were approaching Sperm whales as a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins surprised us. We had a lot of children on board and it is always so cute to see them express their joy over our spectacular marine life. Followed by a Sperm whale, and another, and another… the excitement kept growing. By the time we were back in the marina, everyone had big smiles on their faces.

By Hannah Carstens

Sightings of the Day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins

13:00 Bottlenose dolphins

16:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whales

Stenella

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales

16:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whales