21.10.2021 – Switching shifts

Both our boats set off this morning to meet a group of travelling Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) that were briskly travelling east in a rather dispersed formation. These gentle-natured deep-diving dolphins practice alloparental care which means that all females in these matriarchal family groups are responsible for both the suckling and education of the calves. Although pilot whales aren’t the only cetaceans that display this sort of unity when raising their young, the way they organise their deep dives in regards to their young calves are a unique characteristic of this species.

Rather than leaving their calves alone at the surface during their sprint foraging dives pilot whales babysit their little ones in shifts, with some females remaining at the surface whilst the others hunt. Once the other females return from their hunt, it is their turn to look after the young animals and the babysitters engage in their own foraging dives. We observed one calf swimming to a female that had just surfaced whilst the female it moved away from dove. This may have been a display of such babysitting shifts.

Apart from these highly organised and social cetaceans, we also had a short but wonderful sighting with a Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), a very scarred and old animal. For our afternoon trips, the team managed sighting with yet another group of pilot whales as well as Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). Due to technical problems our zodiac didn’t manage a sighting with the latter but our guests returned to the marina in great spirits either way.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Cuvier’s beaked whale, Short-finned pilot whales

14:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

Stenella

10:00 Cuvier’s beaked whale, Short-finned pilot whales

15:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales