22.04.2026 – Still there
April 29, 2026
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) visiting Madeira!
The largest animal ever known to have lived on Earth—reaching up to 30 meters in length and weighing as much as 150–200 tonnes (roughly equivalent to about 25–30 African elephants).
They are so enormous that their heart is about the size of a small car. Despite their massive size, they feed primarily on tiny krill, using baleen plates to filter food from the water—they could technically fit a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in their mouth, but their throat is far too small to swallow anything large.
With an estimated 10,000 to 25,000 individuals remaining worldwide, this was a truly special sighting.
Furthermore, our guests also encountered Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta), and the not much smaller Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), which is only about 10–20% shorter than a blue whale.
By Eva Köhle
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:00 Fin Whale, Bottlenose Dolphin
13:00 Fin Whale, Loggerhead Turtle
Stenella
09:30 Fin Whale, Bottlenose Dolphin
13:30 Fin Whale, Blue Whale
