azwhales
April has been another fantastic whale and dolphin watching month in São Miguel, Azores. This is the best time of the year for us to see a huge variety of species, especially the biggest animals in the world who are migrating through the Azores at this time of the year. During this month we encountered the five largest species in the world; blue whale, fin whale, sei whale, sperm whale (this whale species is actually resident here) and humpback whale. We also encountered the world’s largest dolphin species, the orca (also known as killer whale), as well as false killer whales, pilot whales, and four smaller dolphin species (common dolphins, striped dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and Risso’s dolphins). So, a total of 12 different whale and dolphin species during the month. there aren’t many places in the world that can boast such a high number in just one month! Below are our sighting statistics for the month:
- Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) – 77%
- Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) – 55%
- Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) – 18%
- Pilot whale (Globicephala sp.) – 5%
- Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) -9%
- False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) – 9%
- Orca/Killler whale (Orcinus orca) – 9%
- Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) – 14%
- Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) – 27%
- Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) – 41%
- Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) – 18%
- Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) – 82%
azwhales
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
