28.03.2022 – Out of sight

Our team arrived in the marina ready to take on the wavy Atlantic Ocean and, while the tour aboard our traditional boat had to be cancelled because of the high swell, our Stenella braved the conditions to find a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella fronatlis) and Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Both species are fans of deeper waters. While Sperm whales prefer to remain in areas where they can easily plunge into the abyss to hunt squid, spotted dolphins are often encountered along the 2000m depth line, which is around 4 nautical miles offshore.

In contrast, Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) tend to remain in the waters surrounding the coastline of the island. We encountered a larger pod during our afternoon tour aboard the Stenella and had the joy of watching the little calves pop their heads and tiny dorsal fins above the surface as they obediently swam alongside their mothers. A common misconception of the species is that Bottlenose dolphins only hunt at the surface, few people know that these powerful animals can dive up to 550m deep! The vast distribution of the species makes Bottlenose dolphins quite a cosmopolitan marine dweller, with foraging patterns and prey preferences largely dependent on the region. Here in Madeira we rarely see them hunt at the surface; the more interesting stuff seems to lie out of sight for us humans in the deeper layers of the water column.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Stenella

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whales

15:00 Bottlenose dolphins