Hello ocean friends,
Today we were surprised by a very special visitor: the Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis)!
The first encounter of the year!
This species is found only in the Atlantic Ocean. In the Azores they are considered to be migratory occurring between June to October. The group we saw in the morning was resting. We approached the pod slowly, meaning not to scare them. Because they were very relaxed and swimming slowly, we were able to enjoy their beautiful spotted body.
After this we saw a big group of Common Dolphins (Delphinis delphis). They were foraging, so swimming fast to hunt on fish.
We could not stay too long, because we got a call from our lookout that they spotted a blow. We cruised miles away from coast to encounter a lovely group of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus). We saw 5 individuals, mostly juveniles, travelling to the west. Amazing to see them so close to each other.
In the afternoon tour we also saw the Spotted Dolphins, being much more active then in the morning. We also encountered a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
