13.10.2026 – It’s a hard knock life

Today’s tours involved a lot of searching and a lot of strategic thinking during the sighting. We do, after all, share the ocean with a few other boats so being mindful about how we spend our time with the animals is essential.

This is particularly important with species with a strong site fidelity to Madeira, like the Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), species that are very sensitive to sound, like the Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), and generally sensitive species, like the Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba).

After a morning with several Bottlenose dolphin groups, we ended our day with a sighting of Striped dolphins (and almost a sighting with beaked whales) aboard our traditional boat.

Striped dolphins are extremely cautious around boats – and they have every reason to be. The species arrives occasionally in Madeira throughout the year in small groups of 30 animals but is known to travel in enormous superpods, that often contain over 1000 animals and can include other species. The groups visiting Madeira often include little calves, which could be a reason for their evasive behaviour. The species is also know to be susceptible to the morbillivirus, a virus responsible for massive die offs of the species. Striped dolphins are also one of the most frequent victims of bycatch by the Supertrawlers in the North Atlantic, a sobering and tragic fact highlighting the incredible size and destructive force of these nets.

So Striped dolphins really do not have it easy – which is why it is our responsibility to respect the fact that this species is sensitive and consider this every step of the way. Due to the congestion at the sightings area, our team left the pod of Striped dolphins earlier than we had planned but our clients fully supported this and understood the decision. We can only be grateful that our philosophy truly resonated with our clients!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Bottlenose dolphins

13:00 Striped dolphins

Steno

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins