azwhales
Perfect day out in the ocean today! Sun shinning, blue sky, great sea conditions, and whales and dolphins in the Azores! Soon after leaving the harbour, our boats followed different directions. One of them went further west to find several groups of striped dolphins.
All of them very active, jumping, with the typical behaviour of this species! Amazing to see! Meanwhile, the other boat was directed by our lookout to the second largest animal on Earth, the fin whale! This whale was so big… so beautiful.
Always travelling in the same direction and doing quite a long dive each time. We saw it in several occasions blowing a few times before diving again to continue travelling. We had very good sightings of its head, dorsal fin, and body shape and colour. Incredible to witness this majestic creatures migrating right now by our little island.
Today common dolphins were also around delighting all the guests on-board, especially the youngest ones.
Among the group, we could see one with unusual colour, without the yellow on the side. Playful, curious and bowriding our boats, these dolphins are never disappointing!
Hundreds of Portuguese Man O War were floating around in some areas. Did you know that those animals are the most dangerous ones you can find in the Azores? They didn’t look like, but they can even kill a man. So if you see them, don’t touch them!
The afternoon was reserving for us a truly amazing show of natural strength. We could sight not one, not two but three different baleen whale species! Blue whale, fin whale and sei whale, the three biggest animals on earth. They stayed with us for a really long time swimming majestically, coming frequently to the surface with vigorous blows. The blue whale even showed its tail several times!
Sei whale:
Fin whale:
On top of that we saw on our way back a big group of common dolphins full of calves, bursting with life. An afternoon that will remain in our heads for a really long time, the memory of a lifetime.
azwhales
Equipa de Biólogos da Futurismo
Sandrina Rodrigues
