Futurismo Biologists TeamFebruary 2023 was also an atypical month in São Miguel waters. Our best predictions came true, as it has been a month full of mysteries! Despite not being that far into 2023, we already had incredible surprises and dream encounters, and this month was definitive proof of this.
This month we sighted 9 different species, leading to a total of 10 species sighted since the beginning of the year.
We already managed to find the 4 species considered resident in the Azores; common dolphins, found in most of the trips of the month, bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins… and our resident whale species, the sperm whale, which we sighted three times!
Amazingly, the second most sighted species has been the apex predator of the oceans, the biggest dolphin species in the world. Yes, the orca! Once again, being in the spotlight of the month! This time, seen in 5 different days. It looks like the same pod is spending some time around the island, and we can not wait to learn more about them. We saw the pod socializing, breaching in some cases and, surprisingly, sharing an opah fish for lunch: a unique encounter never seen here before.
The rest of the species were sighted once; two fin whales, a migratory species more commonly observed passing by the Azores during springtime; a gigantic group of striped dolphins, the first of the year for a species that is only seen occasionally; and two more “blackfish” species apart from orcas: pilot whales and false killer whales!
We cannot forget that nature is unpredictable, and it is a privilege to see any and every animal. Moreover, thanks to these sightings, we collect scientific data for our research, to try to better understand the presence of these cetacean species in mid-Atlantic waters.
It seems like we stepped into what might become a very special year! We cannot wait to see what March will bring us.
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
