07.08.2026 – Mother’s protection
August 14, 2026
Small but elegant, the short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) was present during one of our trip. They are about the same size as the spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and are easily recognizable by their hourglass pattern : dark back, white belly, bright yellow-tan on the front flanks and light grey on the rear flanks make a criss-cross shape. They are widely distributed in sub-tropical to temperate waters and around Madeira they are a seasonal species, more present in winter and spring. The pods that are spotted during summer are closer to the coast. We were happy to see some calves with their mom in the pod. If they need to, these agile animals can reach high speeds, up to 60 km/h, making them one of the fastest cetaceans.
The diversity on this day was amazing with four others species of cetaceans. A young spotted dolphin kept jumping in front of our boat : he was trying to shake off a pesky remora stuck near his tail, giving us a nice show !
By Juliette Colançon
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whale
13:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins
Steno
09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins
13:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins
16:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales
