13.11.2024 – A lovely story

We were surprised! Risso dolphins (Grampus griseus) paid us a visit. What special, beautiful animals they are. Afterwards, we saw our coastal Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), which showed themselves to us today.

Bottlenose dolphins normally live together in groups. However, there are also so-called solitary animals. These individual animals often seek proximity to humans. One of the best known in Europe was Fungie. He lived in Dingle Bay on the south-west coast of Ireland for over 37 years. In 1983, he surfaced in the bay near the town of Dingle and stayed. He quickly became a local celebrity. Fungie was exceptionally trusting of humans. He regularly interacted with boaters and swimmers and became a major tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all over the world. Fungie was known for his playful nature. He accompanied boats and often jumped out of the water near them. The people of Dingle and all of Ireland valued him not only as a tourist magnet, but also as a symbol of the region’s connection with nature. Over the years, various theories developed about his origins and reasons for his unusual closeness to humans, but much about his life in the sea remained a mystery.

At midday we had waves at the limit on our speedboat and three Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Risso dolphins

13:30 no sighting

Stenella

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Risso dolphins

13:30 Sperm whales