07.10.2019 – Grand finale

Today was an interesting day in many different ways, we set out this morning to find a pod of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), an excellent first sighting as these fantastic creatures impressed us with their stature and agility. Since Bottlenoses are sometimes found relatively close to the island when compared to most other species. This first sighting left us with plenty of time to look for more, so we did.

We headed much further out for our second sighting, since our spotter saw some Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) far away from land. The trick with Sperm whales is that they like to go hunting in the deep and can take up to two hours until they resurface, so a raised tail on the horizon means we missed the chance, and at first this did happen. However, the Sperm whale females and young, that live in the warmer waters of the world, live in groups. So we waited just in case another one showed up. Not much later, our patience was rewarded, and we got a great look at one of these giants up close, then others surfaced here and there including a few juveniles. On Stenella, one of the juvenile Sperm whales even swam over to the boat for a little inspection. It was an incredible experience and a lucky day at that!

But this wasn’t all! On the way back we got treated to a small group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), a last little bonus, the cherry on top of the cake as these playful small dolphins briefly swam with the boat, it seemed as if they were swimming towards a Sperm whale. Although it is common to see different cetacean species interact, it is unclear if these vastly different sized animals communicate much with each other.

Such an incredible day out on the water felt extra special for me today as it was my last day of the season as a guide, it was a suitable finale to an incredible season. Working on Madeira for Lobosonda has been an unforgettable time with many different experiences, great people to meet on board, beautiful sights at sea and lots of surprises as every day out on the water is different. So with eyes firmly set on the horizon I move on to new adventures, but will never forget the ones I had here with all of you.

By Scott Dorssers

Sightings of the day

Ribeira brava

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales

Stenella

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales