Pilot whales, Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Rough-toothed dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whales, Beaked whales, Humpback whales, Baleen whales, Loggerhead turtles
We have recently seen the following whale and dolphin species on our whale-watching trips on La Gomera:
- Pilot whales (Indian pilot whales)
- Atlantic spotted dolphin
- Bottlenose dolphin
- Blainville’s beaked whales
- Rough-toothed dolphin
- Humpback whale
- Baleen whales (unidentified)
- Beaked whale (unidentified)
- Loggerhead sea turtle
The pilot whales were rather reserved these days. The bottlenose dolphins were often in the vicinity again. Were they supposed to distract us from them? They came close to the boat and performed delightful jumps. The pilot whales usually stayed in the background or further away. Maybe they shouldn’t be disturbed so much with their young. Who knows…
Rough-toothed dolphins showed up in their typical formation, swimming side by side, and we were also able to marvel at one or two leaps.
On one tour, we thought we had seen pilot whales at first, but it was actually 2 Blainville’s beaked whales! We were allowed to keep them company for 10 minutes until they dived down.
A few days later we spotted more beaked whales, but we couldn’t identify them. They had only surfaced briefly and were far away.
The crowning glory at the end of the month: A jumping humpback whale just a few metres from our boat! Time stood still in this breathtaking moment! The memory of it will only remain in our minds and hearts!
Then there were the large offshore bottlenose dolphins, which are even more powerful and larger than the bottlenose dolphins that live close to shore.
One day we saw the blow of two baleen whales in the distance. Unfortunately, we were unable to identify them and they had not surfaced again.
We also encountered loggerhead turtles and hammerhead sharks again on our tours.
The sighting rate for the whole of July was 86%!
Fotos: Noel Covián, OCEANO Archiv