24.06.2024 – Dolphins in reptile costumes

Numerous different dolphin species were seen during our tours today, amongst them our charming Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), the swift Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and ever entertaining Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). The most unusual visitor though was the Rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis). As little as we encounter these magnificent cetaceans, I found myself staring sceptically at them for a while, until being able to determine the species we are looking at. Their weirdly angled, reptile-like head is their most characteristic feature. Dark-grey bodies, similar to our resident bottlenose dolphins, they often swim much more actively and curiously around our boats. Also today, some individuals leaped out of the water repeatedly, demonstrating their bright-pinkish bellies. What a fantastic encounter! Until today we know very little about these bizarre dolphins, they are somewhat curious, but also shy, and disappear as suddenly as they appeared. It seems that their distribution is restricted to warm waters, indeed, we encounter them mostly during the summer months in Madeira. From stranded animals and observations in the wild, we know that Rough-toothed dolphins feed preferably on fish and squid. But their social structure is only poorly understood. We do often observe them swimming in perfect synchrony around our boats. This is not only impressive to watch, but also gives us the chance to take important photographs, which will hopefully help to study and understand this species much more.

By Sarah Kather

Sightings of the day

Click on each sighting to access the photo gallery of the correspondent trip

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Rough-toothed dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins

Stenella

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Rough-toothed dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Striped dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins

16:00 Bottlenose dolphins