02.08.2022 – An ocean of contrasts

Whale-watching would be boring if all animals would behave exactly the same way and it’s wonderful to enjoy sightings with so many different animals! Today our sightings involved species that were both shy and curious towards our boats.

The morning began with some encounters with a few curious dolphins that included a playful group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) that hitched a ride at the waves of our bow as they travelled east and a small pod of Rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis). The latter unfortunately disappeared when the wind picked up and our traditional boat was unable to reach them in time. Amongst the two dolphin pods, a large baleen whale was located by our spotter and both our boats accompanied the individual for a while as it travelled eastward. Baleen whales tend to behave very evasively towards our boats as they tend to arrive in the waters of the island alone, so our team was unable to identify the species.

In the afternoon the baleen whale and rough-toothed dolphins were nowhere to be found but both our vessels managed sightings with yet another group of spotted dolphins. Again, the pods curiously approached our boats and delivered a big relief for our team and guests after a long search.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Unidentified baleen whale

15:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins

Stenella

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Rough-toothed dolphins, Unidentified baleen whale

14:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins

17:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins