This is why we call Azores the “Whale Zone”

Let’s knock it right off; our eyes were pleased with loads of Sperm whales today! It was not necessarily a huge pod, actually “only” about 4 individuals were seen during the morning trip. But they just kept coming back to the surface even after deep diving. We always managed to spend some great time with at least 1 whale at a time, and it just so happened that when one would dive, another one was already blowing for us nearby! One large individual started to twist his body like a little puppy rolling on the floor, and then came really near to the boat! Another one was a small calve that didn’t follow her mommy on the deep dive down 🙂 of course, the younger ones cannot dive thát deep.

 

 

The Spotted Dolphins were also super entertaining this day, it was a very dense group of about 150 animals, including many juveniles that showed themselves above the water very well. One dolphin was almost completely white, or at least had some huge white patches on its skin that were not supposed to be there. This is likely the “Morbillivirus” that is common in dolphins, or it may have been another pigmentation disease similar to Vitiligo in humans.