18.05.2022 – Lottery ticket

If you took part in our afternoon tour today, whether on the Ribeira Brava or the Stenella, I advise you to buy a lottery ticket. Anyone who has such a lucky streak should use it. What a fantastic tour, what wonderful encounters, such an amazing holiday memory.

First, we encountered Short-finned Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), which were migrating relaxed through the sea. For this marine mammal species, the intensive, emotional contact among the group members is an absolute matter of course. You stick together, come what may. If this species of marine mammals becomes stranded, it is important to ensure that the animals that are still in the water are removed, because as long as they can still communicate with their peers through the water, other group members will approach and thus also become stranded, not because they are stupid, but because they would never leave one of their kind behind. That’s how strong their supportive behavior is.

The Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) that we could observe today usually handle this differently. Baleen whales, which include the Fin whales, tend to be solitary. Anyone who eats around 1,800 kg of fish may not want to be in large groups. But sometimes, like today, baleen whales get together in small groups for a short period of time. We were able to enjoy this situation today. The second-largest animal on our planet moved calmly through the sea. Baleen whales that are migrating come to the surface to breathe fairly regularly. All our guests as well as the crew could benefit from this wonderful event.

Incidentally, the oldest Fin whale, who was killed in Antarctica, lived to be 111 years old. Today we were allowed to observe these wonders of nature in a very gentle, sustainable way.

Our Stenella still had a small whale puzzle to solve. The last whale, the guests saw, was not entirely easy to identify. A closer look at the computer made the animal look very much like a Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) in a frontal view, but the dorsal fin suggested it was a Fin whale. Both options are possible, some puzzles even the experts cannot solve completely.

As a reminder, don’t forget to fill out a lottery ticket 😉

by Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

14:30 Pilot whales, Fin whales

Stenella

09:30 Common dolphins, Pilot whales, Bottlenose dolphins

15:00 Pilot whales, Fin whales, Sei whale (?)