27.10.2018 – A baby was born

The big star of our trip on Stenella today has been a tiny Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus). According to its size the little animal must have been very young. It was swimming close to its mum and amazed everyone on the boat by taking some curious glances above the surface.

The weather conditions have been interesting today. There was quite some rain just before we were about to start the trip. Therefore, we decided to wait a few minutes before potentially heading out. We received the information from our spotter that there were some Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) just three miles offshore. Also, the sky was a bit brighter off the island. So, we decided to start the tour. We were all excited to go out and the courage paid off…

First, we encountered the nice pod of the Bottlenose dolphins which our spotter still had in view. The animals were very interactive and playful. They came into the bow of our zodiac and showed some impressive jumps.

With the dolphins still around, we could already see some bigger, rounded fins in the distance. Those were the Short-finned pilot whales. Like the Bottlenose dolphins, they also have been in a good mood. There was one juvenile animal coming in very close to the boat clearly checking it out by circling around and putting the head above the surface.

But the highlight of the trip turned out to be the tiny Pilot whale. It was just a bit longer than 1 m. Newborns weight around 60 kg and have a strong bonding to their mummy. Healthy female Pilot whales between 12 and 35 years in age can have a baby every 3 to 4 years. The young ones will not only receive milk from their mum but also from other females in the group. We hope to see this little animal growing up, getting bigger and stronger within the coming months and years during more great encounters like the ones today.

by Jan-Christopher Fischer

Sightings of the day

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales