25.11.2024 – Whales, waves and oxygen

Hui, it was up and down today. The sea still needs a bit of time to calm down after the storm. Nevertheless, we did see Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). They drifted relaxed between the waves and let out a clear ‘whoooooo’ every time they exhaled strongly. If you see sperm whales breathing frequently, it means they are either coming back from a long dive or preparing for one. The oxygen is accumulated in their myoglobin-containing muscles and blood and slowly consumed during a dive.

Did you know that humans breathe an average of 12,000 litres of air per day, which consists of approx. 78% nitrogen, 20.9% oxygen, 0.04% carbon dioxide, etc.? We suck in 2500 litres of oxygen every day. We can only hope that the killing of whales will finally end, because they are actively responsible for maintaining our source of oxygen. Their poo enriches the sea with important nutrients for phytoplankton, which produces 70% of our oxygen.

We also saw Sperm whales in the afternoon. This time they were closer to the coast and the sea had calmed down a bit. Our guests were also able to see Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

14:00 Sperm whales, Bottlenose dolphins, Pilot whales

Stenella

09:30 Sperm whales

13:30 Sperm whales, Bottlenose dolphins