22.05.2021 – Triathlon

Today a triathlon for young and old took place in the marina of Calheta.

Our guests had to pass their own boat triathlon. Today’s disciplines: balancing waves; enjoy the ride and admire the dolphins.

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) did not seem interested in sporting activities. They were very busy. Socializing was the only sport they played today. Socializing is existential for these animals because it strengthens group bonds. A good cohesion is a good guarantee to prove yourself successful in the hunt.

The Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) were active in their own three triathlon disciplines. Surfing the waves, riding the bow wave and breaching were their categories. They showed great talent and ability in all three areas.

Like us humans, dolphins communicate through body language in addition to their sounds. Leaps and breaches play an important role here. Dolphins breach out of a joy for life, to show dominance, to impress or to pass on acoustic information (“We’re changing direction”; “Here is fish”; “The meeting point is here”) to the other members of the group. It is also used for purely pragmatic reasons, for example to shed old skin and to keep fish in an area.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

14:30 Bottlenose dolpins, Atlantic spotted dolphins