23.07.2022 – Deep Divers and calm oceans
August 2, 2022
25.07.2022 – The elusive and the inquisitive
August 4, 2022
A calm Sunday morning, smooth sea, visibility a little hazy due to the desert wind that brought us fine dust awaited us today. Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) surrounded the boat, and a Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) stayed near a marker buoy.
A Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), not at all shy, surrounded the boat accompanied by her fishy friends. Blue-black ringed Pilot fishes (Naucrates ductor) and a Man o-war fish (Nomeus gronovii) had sought shelter with her. On our cover picture, you can see the small Pilot fish well. When the small, freshly hatched turtles make their first journey into the sea, they are approx. 4.5 cm long and weigh 20 grams. Adult animals reach a length of about one meter and weigh about 200 kg.
In the afternoon, our wait was definitely rewarded, because the otherwise shy Blainville’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) were very kind to us. There were some curious approaches. The whales danced around the boat. A very beautiful, close, touching experience. French zoologist Henri de Blainville first described these whales in 1817 using a small piece of jawbone. This was the heaviest bone he had ever seen. This resulted in the name densirostris (Latin for “dense beak”).
By Fatima Kutzschbach
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottelnose dolphin, Striped dolphins
15:00 Blainville’s beaked whales
Stenella
10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottelnose dolphin
14:00 Blainville’s beaked whales
17:00 Blainville’s beaked whales, Atlantic spotted dolphins
