14.08.2025 – The tale of the dolphins

Today we could appreciate several of our beautiful dolphin species. In the morning three different dolphin species were spotted, which ranged from our small, but active Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), over our calm Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to the shy Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus). Although all of these dolphins are part of the dolphin family, their morphology is vastly different. Spotted dolphins are small slender animals, while Bottlenose dolphins are more bulky. Risso’s dolphins on the other hand have a round head and no beak.

The following trips allowed us appreciate even more these differences between the dolphins as they were spotted again.

Apart from these on the last trip a member of the toothless Beaked whale family was spotted. It was the Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), the most common of them here on the island.

By Horst Schulte

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins

13:00 Bottlenose dolphins

16:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whale

Stenella

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins

16:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whale