16.11.2021 – Wave-watching
November 23, 202118.11.2021 – Power package
November 25, 2021
It was dynamic today! The wind blew in gusts across a turbulent sea. A Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) breached several times. Once even very close, but on the photo I could only immortalize the splash. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a breach with advance notice :). Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) surfed the wild waves or interacted with the Sperm whale, who breached before. It is difficult to say whether this whale enjoyed contact with the dolphins or felt irritated. He started to slap his tail. Since the density of water is higher, sound is transmitted much better in the liquid element than in air. Sound travels 1500 meters per second in the sea, so it is five times faster as in air. To inform other group members where you are, or to “drum up” the others, a bang like this with the tail is very useful. Of course, the whale could have expressed its displeasure with the dolphins at their intrusiveness. The loud bang on the surface of the sea is, on the one hand, not pleasant for the sensitive hearing of the small marine mammals and, on the other hand, there is a strong force in such a tail slap. Who would want to be nearby? Of course, we cannot really know what it was all about.
By Fatima Kutzschbach
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Sperm whales, Bottlenose dolphins
