07.09.2022 – Surprise from the deep

After another amazing snorkeling trip with calm seas and a curious and playful pod of around 50 Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (stenella frontalis), the rest of the day looked more like a search and exploration for both our boats. Dolphins were far away and our traditional fishing vessel went out for a long search in the heat and finally had to end the trip with one bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) a very small Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and a few flying fish. Sometimes it really is more about those little extras and to enjoy a nice boat ride than to chase a sighting after another, even though we wish it would be like that.. The fast zodiak was lucky to encounter the deepest diver of our ocean, the Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) that surprised them on the way to a sighting of Bottlenose dolphins. Like so often the species name says a lot about the animals features. So is the latin name of this whale translates hollow beak that refers to a bony structure anterior if their nose. This feature is unique to male animals of this species.

by Paulina Kalita

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphin

15:00 Bottlenose dolphin, Loggerhead Turtle

Stenella

9:30 Atlantic Spotted dolphin

13:00 Bottlenose dolphin

15:30 Bottlenose dolphin, Cuviers Beaked Whale