25.11.2021 – Great achievement

Great sightings!

When leaving the marina, the sea was calm. A wonderful change after the last very eventful days. However, conditions at sea can always change quickly. We didn’t have a wild wave; but the sea was not calm either. The swell made it difficult to take good photo of the sighting of the Short-finned Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), as well as during the subsequent sighting of the Pseurorcas (Pseudorca crassidens). In addition to their very similar appearance, both species had in common that they migrated wide spread from each other towards the south-east. Not an easy thing for us to get in touch, but a clever strategy for the marine mammals to search a large area for food.

At the beginning of the month, MARE Madeira managed to attach a satellite to one of the Pseudoorcas currently in Madeira’s waters. This gives a clear picture of the movement patterns of this kind. You can follow this in the following link. This is of course a great achievement from MARE Madeira!

https://www.movebank.org/cms/webapp?gwt_fragment=page=search_map_linked,sensorTypeId=82798,studyIds=886013997,lat=32.62141339529981,lon=-16.672435000000004,z=10

We definitely had great and very special sightings.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Pilot whales, Pseudorcas