25.11.2023 – Little acrobats

All cetaceans are extremely social animals but few put this on full display during sightings like the members of the dolphin family! While larger delphinids, like Orcas (Orcinus orca) or Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), exist in family pods, species like the Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) move in pods consisting of carefully selected companions. We met a group of around 20 animals this morning, many with dorsal fin markings that were recognisable from previous sightings.

As a species that can be encountered all year round in Madeira, it isn’t rare to recognise a few individuals during a sighting but it’s a total pleasure every single time. While Bottlenose dolphins don’t always display the most curious behaviour during sightings, this can always change in a heartbeat with these incredibly dynamic delphinids! We saw these charismatic dolphins during all our tours today and even enjoyed the company of another smaller species in the morning…

A large pod of our summer dolphins, the Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) was travelling and socialising around 4 nautical miles off the coastline and they absolutely charmed our guests. While the juveniles and adults elegantly swam through the waves at our bow, the pods tiny calves were leaping and breaching around our boat. Spotting calves within pods of cetaceans is always an absolute joy and these were total acrobats! We even spotted a baby remora on the belly of one of the breaching calf so it’s likely the little one was trying to get rid of it. While we didn’t encounter the spotted dolphins again in the afternoon, we hope to see more of these little acrobats very soon!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins

Stenella

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins