16.08.2019 – Human watching

It is always a delight to see cetaceans in their natural habitat and today was no exception. When we find the animals close enough to the boat, we can sometimes even make eye contact. Dolphins like a bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) or Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) are well known for their tendency to sneak a little peak up at the boat, turning to their sides whilst bow riding, enjoying the waves we make and gliding with us for as long as they want.

However, today a completely different animal decided to come have a look. As soon as the mother raised her fluke and dove down, a young Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) swam over to our boat, for a closer look! It turned on it’s side, showing the eye out of the water and had its own little human watching experience. Younger animals tend to be a bit more playful like this and we were lucky to share a moment with this infant giant!

There was much more to be seen today, another relatively large dolphin species the Rough toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) may be identified by its long snout slightly flatter melon, white lips and a almost dirty looking skin pattern. They are curious and quite uncommon in these waters making it a lucky sighting.

The Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) we saw today were most likely Shortfinned pilot whales as this species of pilot whale prefers the warmer waters, they are generally quite calm at the surface but can reach speeds of 30 km/h if they want. When they dive down into the deep dark to find their prey at around 300 meters, they will home in using their echolocation and strike hard and fast from above.

All the whales mentioned so far were toothed whales, using echolocation and clicks to communicate and hunt, one species today, the Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) was not, this whale belongs to the baleen group, using baleen plates on their upper jaw to filter food out of the water and vocal cords to sing and communicate.

This wide selection of whales brings us to a great total of six species in one day, a great day to be out on the ocean.

By Scott Dorssers

Sightings of the day

Ribeira brava

9:00 Atlantic spotted dolphin, Sperm whale, Bottlenose dolphin, Short finned pilot whale,

17:00 Short finned pilot whale, Atlantic spotted dolphin

Stenella

9:00 Atlantic spotted dolphin

12:00 Atlantic spotted dolphin, Sperm whale, Bottlenose dolphin, Short finned pilot whale, Rough toothed dolphin.

15:30 Short finned pilot whale, Bryde’s whale