16.07.2024 – Love at the first sight
July 24, 2024
18.07.2024 – Who are you?
July 26, 2024
On todays 17:00 Stenella they met (alongside other things) a Hammerhead shark (Sphyrna sp.). This has reminded me of the long-standing internet debate on whether shark skin is smooth or rough. This debate stems from the fact that sharks are engineered to be streamlined in one direction. This means if you stroke a shark from nose to tail (just like your cat likes), it’ll feel smooth to the touch, but if you stroke him vice versa, it’ll feel rough. Almost as rough as your relationship with your cat will be after you pet them tail to nose too many times—or as rough as our midday tours, which sadly saw no sightings today despite the best efforts from the crew. Our other tours had various lovely dolphin species, however, including a very encounter with what we presume to be Pygmy Killer Whales (Feresa attenuata). Just goes to show if youre looking for smooth in the rough, you should always look to dolphins, especially considering their skin is so smooth that its structure is used as a model when scientists research drag-resistant materials!
By Peter Worth
Sightings of the Day
Ribeira Brava
09:30 Bottlenose Dolphin, Rough Toothed Dolphin
17:00 Bottlenose Dolphins
Stenella
09:30 Rough-toothed dolphin, Short-finned pilot whales, Bottlenose dolphins
17:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Hammerhead shark, Pygmy killer whales
