19.05.2025 – A whale marked by the orca

Today we had a variety of encounters with our sea friends. My colleague Horst was able to take a photo of part of the Sperm whale fluke. Here you can see very clearly that this animal has already had an encounter with an orca. The bite marks on the tail fin are clear. Why don’t you zoom into the picture? However, the Sperm whale seems to have been in excellent health.

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) have a marvellous strategy to give their vulnerable animals the protection they need. Juveniles and calves are taken to the centre, while the adults gather around the centre like margarita flowers, head inwards, fluke outwards. When attackers approach, the whales slap the surface of the sea with their powerful tails. On the one hand, this causes an incredible noise, which is very painful for the hearing-sensitive marine mammals. On the other hand, the force of an animal weighing 20 to 50 tonnes should not be underestimated. Orcas certainly don’t want to come anywhere near such an impact.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Common dolphins

13:30 Pilot whales, Sperm whales

Stenella

09:30 Common dolphins, Sperm whales, Bottlenose dolphins

13:30 Pilot whales, Sperm whales, Bottlenose dolphins

16:00 Pilot whales, Striped dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins