18.08.2020 – From zero to four

Today was a wonderful summer day at sea! Our guests had to be patient and maybe one or the other was worried that there would be no marine mammals to be seen, but then things suddenly happened in quick succession.

At the beginning we saw two groups of the Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), which, as always, reacted very socially to us.

This was followed by a group of Short-finned Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), which we were allowed to accompany in a relaxed manner for a while. A small calf kept coming out of the water in a steep curve. It was certainly able to catch a good look at us. A youngster swam very chilled on his back, Flipper up high.

The third sighting this morning was a bit subdued. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) had contact with three boats before, so we didn’t stay here long. We let them go their ways. Breaks are a must.

Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) also showed up on our excursion out of the sea. In one of the photos you can see a small Pilot fish accompanied by the smallest turtle we saw today.

To top it off, there was a group of very interested Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) to watch. It seemed that they liked our admiration very much.

Four species of dolphins and three Loggerhead turtles on one tour, yes that can be described as a wonderful summer day at sea.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Pilot whales, Bottlenose dolphins, Common dolphins

Stenella

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Pilot whales, Bottlenose dolphins, Common dolphins, Loggerhead turtles

15:00 Atlantic Spotted dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, Sperm whale