22.08.2019 – Rush hour

Before booking, our guests usually ask us what time of the day is best for whale-watching. Of course, the best case scenario for everyone is that we manage as many species as possible during one tour, with our standing record being 6 different cetacean species! Obviously the Atlantic has to play along and this is not always the case. Today, however, she decided to be her usual generous self.

After encountering the interactive Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) during both our tours this morning, with the team aboard our zodiac providing additional sightings of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) to our guests, both our boats were lucky to encounter the grandmasters of all toothed whales, the Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), this afternoon. 

In Madeira’s deep waters we usually anticipate matriarchal groups of these giants in the summer, tightly knit units consisting of several females, juveniles and calves. Occasionally, however, we also meet some large bulls and today our team is almost certain that the animals we encountered were larger males. Sperm whales possess the highest grade of sexual dimorphism amongst all toothed whales which is manifested in their size, distribution, social behaviour and their diving abilities. When the significantly larger bulls hunt, they may plunge into depths as far as 2500m and remain below the surface for well over an hour. Our spotter had already observed the animals diving at intervals of around half an hour as we left the marina and, then, we got lucky. One by one, these huge creatures surfaced emitting a powerful spout and exposing their enormous, creased bodies. 

Our guests were thrilled at this series of Sperm whales surfacing near our boat with one guest aboard our Ribeira Brava even asking “Is this Sperm whale rush hour?”. Of course there is no actual rush hour here in Madeira for any sort of cetacean species, with the countless factors determining their approach to the islands waters leaving our team unaware of what to anticipate on every tour. This only leave us wondering; what lured this group of Sperm whales into the waters in front of Calheta? We can assume that it is linked to prey availability since we have a high abundance of deep-sea squid entering shallower waters at this time of the year but the actual answer is hidden beneath the surface of the deep, blue Atlantic.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins

13:30 Sperm whales

Stenella

09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

15:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whales, Striped dolphins