The 29th of August, like every morning in Bahia das Ribeiras, after finding a group of Risso´s dolphins from land, we headed the group at sea helped by Dominique, the land observer of the day. After one hour and 35 minutes of group follow we received an unexpected phone call: apparently there were False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) off Pico Island, not far from where we were at that moment. It was 10.30 am.
As soon as possible, we picked up Dominique and the whole team went to the animals. But when we reached the area the pseudorcas were not there. After few minutes of disappointment finally we encountered the group, accompanied by a Whale watching company.
This dolphin species resemble an fossil cetacean in the outside, with a dinosaur-like head, and a long – thin - black body, however their behaviour bring you back in time and show you they are dolphins.

Yesterday we identified 3 Sei whales, passing by in the Bay of Ribeiras. This is the best time of the year to see them, and the larger baleen whales(Fin’s , Blue’s and Humpbacks) are here as well. On the way back we found around 30 Risso’s close to shore in the bay of Lajes.Due to the strong Easter winds, the Risso’s seem to find shelter in “the bay next door”.

There have been so many Risso’s around, it’s unbelievable!
They have been appearing very close to the shore, just in front of Ribeiras, milling around and socialising. Important pods like S5, S6 and S8 were present at a daily base and we identified over 20 different females with nursing calves. Meanwhile we have been collecting dna samples for the genetic research and taken advantage of the calm beautiful sunny April days.
April 2009 was the best April ever, with more then 15 days spend at sea, and Risso’s sighed on 13 days! There were also days when the bay was invaded by Sperm whales and bottlenose dolphins. The baleens however are hanging out at the other side of the island, and are less sighted in Ribeiras Bay.