26.10.2022 – Chop chop

Whale-watching comes with its challenges and these are usually closely related to two factors; weather conditions and the presence of cetaceans within our search range. Thankfully we had the latter on this morning’s Stenella tour and were able to see two very different dolphin species out on the choppy Atlantic Ocean.

Our spotter Carlos led our team to a large group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) that were leaping and breaching between the waves, flashing their pink bellies and characteristic spot pattern as they did. Spotted dolphins are generally very curious and cheerful, but even more so after feeding; the preceding hunting situation was indicated in a large group of Cory’s shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) that were resting at the surface after all the action. 

A few larger dorsal fins soon broke the surface not far from the spotted dolphins and these belonged to a small, dispersed group of Rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis). These unfortunately didn’t stick around for too long but we were happy that we were able to demonstrate the diversity of  dolphins to our guests by showing how different these two dolphins already are in both appearance and behaviour.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Stenella

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Rough-toothed dolphins