Radiant day surrounded by lots of animals

We started our trip with a group of bottlenose dolphins that were calmly swimming very close to the shore. The group was spread through a vast area and was completely surrounding us. Can you imagine what it is to look at every direction and see these friendly animals? Amazing!
After spending some time with them, we went searching for our next sighting.

On our way to the sperm whales’ area, a hammerhead shark was seen swimming with its dorsal and caudal fin out of the water with their characteristic snake-like movement. After being amazed by this unexpected creature, we finally saw a sperm whale! It was calmly logging in the surface. Unfortunately, we could not enjoy its presence for longer, it decided to go find its food and dove showing us its fluke.

Our lookouts told our skipper that a group of pilot whales was swimming nearby, and we decided to go welcome these animals that are coming to the Azores for the summer. A big group of pilot whales, including calves and juveniles, was resting in the surface.

They looked very chilled out, and we were too; the shine of the sun, the silence of the ocean, and the noise of the pilot whales breathing was definitely better than any mindfulness session!

Four species were sighted in the afternoon, two of them different from the ones sighted in the morning. We started by sighting another group of bottlenose dolphins, but this time much further away from the coast. Like in the morning, this group was very friendly and some of its elements even decided to do some belly flop – when an animal exposes bigger parts of its body and then lands on its ventral surface.

Also, like in the morning, we sighted pilot whales resting close to the surface. A nice group of adults, juveniles and claves.

And not far away from the pilot whales was our first new sighting of the day. A young sei whale. This young one was foraging, and in one of its surfacings, it came out quite close to our stopped boat. What a sighting!

To add to this incredible diverse day, our zodiac Mirone saw a really nice group of risso’s dolphins. And besides this, we were also able to see another hammerhead shark! In total 5 species of cetaceans were seen today and one of shark. This just show’s us how Azores waters are very rich in biodiversity and how just within a few hours of difference, these waters can have different animals passing by.
Unfortunately, animals were not everything we saw. Our zodiac also encountered a Fishing Aggregation Device (FAD), a device used in tuna fishing.

Unfortunately, these devices not only affect tuna health status but also can impact negatively other marine species like cetaceans, sharks, and sea turtles. Good thing that our team was able to take it out of the sea, it can no longer harm our marine biodiversity.

If you want to learn more about these devices check our post in our blog.
Come and in one of our trips and discover the immense diversity of the Azores.