27.07.2021 – With pectoral fin, dorsal fin and tail
August 2, 2021
29.07.2021 – Attention
August 4, 2021
Yippie Yeah! Today we had Rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis)! Now and then they visit us. Then it will be nice and cozy with them. These quaint dolphins, with their reptilian beak, large, dark eyes, and strained skin, are extremely cute. It is always a pleasure, when they visit Madeira’s waters. Today’s school was huge, so many, many animals! Their interactivity, their curiosity gave us a real Yippie yeah feeling!
On many photos, you can clearly see the large blowhole of the Rough-toothed dolphins. Marine mammals have many nerve endings around their blowhole. They can feel exactly when they are far enough above the water surface to breathe in without getting water into their blowhole. Inhalation follows in fractions of a second, and the renewal of the air volume is 80-90% with each breath. The oxygen is stored in the bloodstream and in the myoglobin-containing muscles. Dolphins do not have a respiratory reflex like we humans do; like all marine mammals, they are conscious breathers. While toothed whales only have one blowhole, baleen whales have two blowholes.
And a turtle fan was also happy today, because we saw two Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) during our trip.
By the way, the Rough-toothed dolphins sent best regards to Claudia, who is a fan of this type of dolphin.
It was a really nice experience today! We got rich gifts again! Thank you!
By Fatima Kutzschbach
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Rough-toothed dolphins, Loggerhead turtles
