14.08.2019 – Above & below

Today our Ribeira Brava embarked on the long journey to Funchal to fuel and we ended up cruising all the way to Cabo Girão on this mornings snorkelling tour to find a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). We were also able to track down a group of Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) before encountering the spotted, a beautiful but shy specie of dolphin which is better observed from our boats rather than in the water. The same applies for the larger but very sociable Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and guests often wonder and ask us; why do we only target the spotted dolphins or the Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and not other dolphins for our snorkelling tours?

The answer is quite simple and has largely to do with their conservation status, their behaviour and their relationship to Madeira’s waters as a habitat. Firstly, both the spotted and the commons are seasonal visitors to Madeira’s waters, with the warm-water loving spotted dolphins being more abundant at this time of the year. Secondly, they tend to actively interact with boats. Particularly the spotted are small, curious dolphins that are likely to approach us in the water, a behaviour that largely contrasts that of their close taxonomic relatives, the Striped dolphins. The groups of Striped dolphins coming to Madeira also tend to be small, nursery groups consisting of females and little almond-shaped calves making their behaviour all the more weary. We also encountered Bottlenose dolphins today, a species many people would also love to meet in the water. While this is perfectly understandable since they are also very charismatic in their own way, the communities of this species in Madeira have shown residential patterns with many animals preferring to remain in the deeper, coastal waters around the island. This relationship to Madeira’s waters along with the fact that these animals are exposed to frequent boat contact makes avoiding snorkelling with this species an understandable decision.

In a nutshell, sliding into the water with dolphins is a pretty intense experience for both the dolphins as well as for our participants. The safety of our guests and the well-being of the animals are paramount to us so we aim to be as considerate and careful as possible during such close encounters. The cooperative behaviour of our guests in the water this morning lead to a lovely encounter and all other sightings from the boat were equally enjoyable on this fine day. 

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

17:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Striped dolphins

Stenella

09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins (Snorkelling), Striped dolphins

15:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins

18:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins