The day was perfect to go whale-watching today! Sunny skies, flat seas and a lookout with animals in sight!

The morning started with a very calm group (as usual!) of Risso’s dolphins. These wonderful animals have a very interesting coloration: when they are born they are dark grey but, as they grow older, they become whiter as they accumulate scars from all of their interactions with each other. Today we had some calfs with their mothers so it was perfect to see this evolution of coloration!

 

Risso’s dolphin calf with it’s characteristic dark color

 

After a quick encounter with a very friendly group of Common dolphins we went searching for Sperm whales! Today they were building the suspense and keeping us waiting but at last one decided to slow down and let everyone have a good view of it’s dorsal fin.

Sperm whale dorsal fin

 

Since they were travelling, they were doing mid-water dives. When they do this type of dive they stay close to the surface and so, they don’t show the tails. We can only see them when Sperm whales dive deep to go looking for some yummy squid deep down!

During the afternoon, the sea kept calm and the sun kept shining, so the Swimming with Atlantic Spotted dolphins and with Common dolphins was a delicious Summer treat in an Autumn day! 😀

Will you join us soon? 😀

Catarina Fonseca

About Catarina Fonseca

Catarina is Marine Biologist and was Main Guide and Technical & Scientific Director at TERRA AZUL from 2014 to 2017. She is dedicated, knowledgeable and a passionate friend to animals and humans. We hope she can come back soon to wildlife experiences with us. , and everyday works on ensuring the highest educational and conservation standards during spractice. She also contributes collecting Data collection for MONICET – The Azores Islands Cetaceans Research & Conservation long-term monitoring project.

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