Futurismo Biologists TeamSummer is here, and dolphins seem to know! This month, we spotted 10 different species of Cetaceans in the South of São Miguel! Pods of dolphins occupy the highest positions of the ranking however our sperm whales are the winners of this month!!
Our resident sperm whales were the most sighted species, being spotted in almost 75% of our trips. Between our resident females and our well-known Mr Liable, every day was an amazing show of tails.
Sperm whales were closely followed by our summer visitors: the Atlantic spotted dolphins. They visit the island looking for warmer waters and they are welcome!!! They always give us really fun sightings due to their curiosity and the amount of babies in the pods!
In third and fourth place, we have our resident common and bottlenose dolphins, both sighted over 50% of the days. With their characteristic hourglass pattern in their bodies, common dolphins bring a bit of colour to many of our trips! The acrobatic behaviour of bottlenose dolphins is always a delight! They love to surf the waves and were regularly sighted in association with other species!!
Other species were sighted, such as pilot whales, for the first time this year, and our most mysterious resident species: Risso´s dolphins. These odontocetes are usually calmer and less enthusiastic towards the boat however they still provide us with beautiful moments in more than 25% of our tours!
We were also gifted by the unexpected presence of some baleen whales during the summertime. Sei whales showed up in more than 20% of the trips, and we were also visited by a Minke whale in one of our tours, giving us one of the most amazing sightings of the month.
Finally, another less common and more elusive and mysterious groups of beaked whales were sighted. A very special sighting for our biologists… northern bottlenose whales! They are really good divers, which makes them really difficult to spot, since they are able to be underwater for almost three hours! Nonetheless, our team managed to see them beautifully approaching the boat and spy hopping!
What a fantastic month! Stay tuned and let’s see what nature brings us on August!
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
