Today was a dolphin day, but a very special one! We had resident species, migratory and even occasional species 😀

To start the day we had a group of Bottlenose dolphins travelling along the South coast and we could even see them fighting!

 

Bottlenose dolphin – doesn’t it look too sweet to fight?

 

 

Bottlenose dolphins nearby the coast

 

The Common dolphins and Atlantic Spotted dolphins came along to say hi in all of our tours! They were very calm and relaxed, having breakfast with the Cory’s Shearwaters and swimming close to the boats and showing off their babies and beautiful colours and patterns.

 

Cory’s shearwaters having some breakfast

 

Common dolphins in a feeding frenzy with the Cory’s shearwater

 

The Risso’s dolphins also wanted to get the in the “Sweetest Calf of the Summer” competition and a group of females brought their babies for the public to score 🙂 It is still being debated who won… Who do you think should win?

 

Risso’s dolphin calf – when they are born, they are completly grey and become white with age

 

Risso’s dolphin mother with her calf

 

To close the day on a high note the Short-finned Pilot whales decided to make an appearance! Did you know that, with 6,5 m and after the orca, they are the second largest species of dolphin? You can read more about them here 🙂

 

Short-finned pilot whales

 

Male Short-finned pilot whale

 

Keep tuned for more news of our tours! 😀

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.

Your thoughts on this?