09.10.2018 – Two very special Pilot whales

After a stormy, rainy Monday we were curious about what we would expect out at sea. A wild sea, in which water masses are moved, of course also a momentum in the whole ecosystem, so we were hoping for plenty of animals. This hope has definitely been fulfilled in a wonderful way today. Wet and over the calm sea, Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) spread out. As far as the eye could see, one could see the differently shaped dorsal fins of the two species.

I would like to introduce two very special Pilot whales today. In the morning we observed an animal, which was tagged with a transmitter on it’s dorsal fin. Of course, the act of tagging must be done with great care. The animal, which is provided with a transmitter and the rest of the group should be stressed as little as possible. Certainly not always a simple task. Without question, this means a brief intervention in natural behavior, but what do the researchers hope for? By tagging an animal a variety of information can be collected. Measurements of diving depths, diving times, migration routes and constellations within the group can be found, for example. This important information will hopefully help to protect marine mammals.

Our Pilot whale and another conspecific were tagged with on 29.09.2018 by CIIMAR Madeira, a non-profit organization, which is specialized on insular environments, as well as in scientific research in atmospheric and marine sciences. The purpose of tagging this two Pilot whales is to find out if they are residents. If this is the case, the transmitter will provide information about the habitat, radius and movement patterns. CIIMAR / Observatorio Oceanico Madeira kindly provided us with a map showing the patterns of movement of “our” pilot whale. These can be found in our photo gallery of today.

If you want take a closer look at our photos of the day, how many of you discover the tagged animal? For the guests who follow us on Facebook, tell us the number of photos in the comments. 🙂 We look forward to hearing from you.

The other animal I want to take a closer look today is also a Pilot whale. This animal has a very special coloration. A wonderfully, beautiful animal, which shows how varied nature is.

From this animal, my colleague Jan-Christopher Fischer made a super beautiful photo with his GoPro. 🙂 Enjoy it!

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day 

Ribeira Brava

14:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Pilot whales

Stenella

10:00Bottlenose dolphins, Pilot whales

15:00Bottlenose dolphins, Pilot whales