Whale shark fact sheet

Rhincodon typus | Whale shark

The whale shark is the largest non-mammalian vertebrate in the world. Unlike other sharks that are often aggressive and violent predators, whale sharks are docile creatures. They move slowly, covering areas as large as 3,700 km and they can dive as deep as 1280 m. Whale sharks have a large mouth containing 10 filter pads that are used to filter plankton, squid and tiny fish that are rammed or engulfed into the mouth. Adults are able to eat more than 2.6 tons of food per day. Whale sharks are ovoviviparous, meaning that the eggs remain tin the body and the mother gives birth to live young. A single female may carry up to 300 embryos which develop at different times. Whale sharks are pelagic and inhabit all tropical and warm to temperate seas (generally below 30º latitude). Their appearance is regularly in the same places and seasons which likely correlates to events like plankton blooms. In the Azores whale sharks are sighted only occasionally when the water is particularly warm.

Length: 
• Average: 9.7 m 

• Maximum: 12.65 m
• Newborn: 40 - 63 cm

Weight: 21,500 kg

Global population: Unknown

Status: Vulnerable (population decreasing)

Diet: Plankton, squid and tiny fish

Longevity: 60 - 130 years

Breeding age: 30 years

Gestation: Unknown

In other languages
Portuguese: Tubarão baleia
Spanish: Tiburón ballena
French: Requin-baleine
Italian: Squalo balena
German: Walhai
Dutch: Walvishaai
Swedish: Valhaj
Norwegian: Hvalhai
Danish: Hvalhaj
Finnish: Valashai
Polish: Rekin wielorybi

2015 sighting statistics

2015 has been another excellent year for whale and dolphin watching off São Miguel Islands in the Azores. This cetacean hotspot in the middle of the north Atlantic ocean attracts a huge diversity of whale and dolphin species, and this year was definitely a diverse year. Across the seasons this year we encountered a total of 16 different species!

As is expected the 3 most encountered species throughout the year were 3 of our resident species: the common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin and sperm whale. Next in line was the fin whale, one of the spring time migratory whales that appears to be on the increase in the Azores in recent years. Our sightings graph below summarises the sighting frequencies of all species throughout the year. The best part is that this year during all our tours we had a 100% success rate. That means that during every tour at least one species of whale or dolphin was encountered! 

Our list of other species we spotted this year includes many loggerhead turtles, leatherback turtles (2015 was a record year for leatherbacks!), sunfish, devil rays, hammerhead sharks, blue sharks, tuna, spearfish and marlin, flying fish, flying squid...and last but not least an extensive list of seabirds, with the Cory's shearwater being the most encountered one.

Sighting frequencies of cetaceans seen in 2015, in descending order:

• Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) - 94.4%
• Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) -82.5%
• Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - 38.9%
• Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) - 27.4%
• Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - 18.7%
• Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) - 13.1%
• Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - 12.7%
• Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) - 5.6%
• Pilot whale species (Glopicephala spp.) - 5.6%
• Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) - 3.6%
• Beaked whale species (Mesoplodon spp.) - 3.6% (Sowerby's and Blainville's beaked whales)
• False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) - 2.4%
• Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) - 1.6%
• Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) - 0.8% 
• Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius carvirostris) - 0.4%

Keep in mind that the above numbers have been grouped together for the whole year and we observe fluctuations in sighting frequencies across the months. For example the chance of seeing one of the great baleen whales (blue whale, fin whale and sei whale) is very high in the spring and virtually zero other times of the year, and sperm whale are seen more often in the summer than the rest of the year. The best time of the year to do a tour in the Azores depends on what you want to see. The following chart is a rough guide, or for more detailed statistics from our previous years of whale and dolphin watching click HERE.

April 2014 sighting statistics

This past month has been fantastic for whale and dolphin watching in São Miguel, Azores. We are in the middle of the best time of the year for whale watching in the Azores, as this is the time that the 3 largest animals in the world (the blue whale, fin whale and sei whale respectively) pass by on their annual migration. The most encountered whale species during April was the fin whale. During the last 22 days straight we encountered fin whales, making up a total sighting rate of 88% for the whole month of April. We are also off to a great start with blue whale sightings, especially during the second half of the month. We had some surprise encounters with other species, such as the false killer whale and a humpback whale. As usual, several dolphins have also made a regular appearance during our tours. The graph below shows the sighting frequencies of all whale and dolphin species we encountered during our tours in April. As well as these encounters we have also come across several ocean sunfish (Mola mola), loggerhead turtle, many seabirds and even a couple of sharks yesterday!

During May we are expecting these great sightings to continue as the baleen whales keep passing the Azores.

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) - 92%
Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) - 50%
Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - 4%
False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) - 4%
Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - 8%
Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) - 4%
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) - 42%
Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) - 5%
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) - 88%

A year of whale watching in the Azores

As we come to the end of 2014 we are looking back to our amazing year of whale and dolphin watching here in São Miguel, Azores. Throughout the year we have encountered a total of 16 whale and dolphin species (blue whale, fin whale, sei whale, humpback whale, sperm whale, northern bottlenose whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, Blainville's beaked whale, orca/killer whale, false killer whale, pilot whale, Risso's dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, striped dolphin and Atlantic spotted dolphin). One of the highlights was an incredible baleen whale season (the spring months), in particular for fin whales as we had a record of encountering fin whales every day for 35 days in a row! Of our 397 tours we encountered whales and/or dolphins in 396 tours this year, a 99.7% success rate!

As well as our cetacean sightings we have also encountered many seabirds and other marine species. As usual we came across many loggerhead turtles and also some leatherback turtles. There were some oceanic sunfish, marlins, tuna, sharks and many mantas. In fact we had a record number of manta ray and devil ray encounters this year. We invite you to watch our video compilation below, showing you some of our magic moments of 2014. Thank you to everybody that joined us out on the ocean this year and we wish you all a great 2015! 

2010 sighting statistics

As 2010 draws to a close the team at Futurismo is looking back to another great year of whale watching experienced here in the Azores. This year we saw 16 cetacean species: common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin, striped dolphin, Risso's dolphin, pilot whale, false killer whale, Northern bottlenose whale, beaked whale species (probably Sowerby's beaked whale), sperm whale, Bryde's whale, humpback whale, blue whale, minke whale, sei whale, and fin whale. We had some very memorable moments, including a record sighting of 7 species in one day and a rare encounter with breaching humpback whales. 2010 has also been a good year for us to see blue whales, the largest animals in the world!

Ofcourse we can't forget the numerous other species encountered, including our local seabirds, turtles, flying fish,and sharks. We would like to thank our visitors from the past year. It has been a pleasure sharing our unforgetable tours with you. We look forward to another great year to come, and hope to share the beauty of the Azores with many more people.

The Futurismo team

September 2016 sightings statistics

The summer is coming to an end, but that certainly doesn't mean that we aren't going out and still seeing a lot of whales and dolphins here off São Miguel island in the Azores. Here we have different species coming and going throughout the year, and we also have resident species, meaning that we have sightings of both whales and dolphins all throughout the year. Throughout the month of September we encountered 12 different species: 6 whale species and 6 dolphin species. As expected, the most encountered whale species was the sperm whale, which is resident in the Azores. This time of the year is also great to see beaked whales, and this month we registered encounters with three different species: Cuvier's beaked whales, Sowerby's beaked whales and Blainville's beaked whales. At this time of the year the baleen whales are migrating south to warmer waters, and although during their south-bound migration we don't often see them (during the spring when they are headed north we see many), this year we have had a sighting of a fin whale and a minke whale, and one day our coastal lookout even saw a blue whale! As well as whales and dolphins, out there in the big blue during September we also encountered loggerhead turtles, an ocean sunfish, manta ray, devil ray, sharks, tuna, flying fish and plenty of marine birds as usual.

• Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) - 82%
• Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) - 79%
• Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - 57%
• Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - 11%
• Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) - 25%
• Pilot whale (Globicephala spp.) - 4%
• Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius carvirostris) - 7%
• Other beaked whale species (Mesoplodon spp.) - 11%
• Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - 68%
• Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) - 4%
• Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) - 4%

Sperm whales, Bottlenose and Striped dolphins and a special encountered with a whale shark!

In Pico Island, today we went out to the ocean for swimming with dolphins. During the trip, we saw three Sperm whales. Then we continued and we encountered Bottlenose dolphins to swim with them.

When we returned, we saw very speedy Striped dolphins and another very special species. We encountered one Whale shark and we had the chance to catch this moment on camera by one of our guests!  Whale sharks are the biggest sharks and they can reach up to 13 meters. This is a rare encounter for us and that is why we want to share this special sighting with you. Check the footage on our Facebook Page! 

Photos by Rui Santos and David Rodrigues 

Sperm whale tail

Striped dolphins jumping out of the water 

Bottlenose dolphin

In São Miguel Island we saw Bottlenose and Striped dolphins too. 

This morning we observed the difference between the big Bottlenose Dolphins and the agile and fast Striped Dolphins.

Whale watching aboard Catamaran Cetus

They let the sea appearing to be boiling water, as they showed us their typical behavior of “flying” over the water to reach high speeds with less friction in the air than under water.  

That’s how they prefer to move also without boats around. 

Bottlenose dolphin jump out of the water 

Biologist Carine Zimmermann presentation info about dolphins 

Bottlenose dolphin bubbles 

Bottlenose dolphin 

Watching Striped dolphins

Striped dolphins jumping in the Ocean 

Biologist Cristina Bernabéu presentation info about dolphins 

On the second tour we found a Sei Whale which also demonstrated that they can swim fast and doing so he let us see more of its dark body and most of its head even part of the lower jaw. Later we met again the acrobatic and playful Bottlenose Dolphins putting on a show for us.

Sei whale

Sei whale

Sei whale

Blue whales, fin whales and a Remora all at once!

In São Miguel Island, Fin whales and bottlenose dolphins are still dominating our sightings.

We have been seeing these two species every single day now for more than 3 weeks, including today in the morning and afternoon. As always, we got to see some interesting things today, such as a juvenile bottlenose dolphin that had a remora (a type of fish) attached to its body. 

Remoras attach to a host such as rays, sharks, turtles, and dolphins so that they can catch a free ride and feed off the scraps from their host. Luckily this relationship does not negatively affect the host (in this case the young bottlenose dolphin).

In Pico Island we had different encounters...Can you imagine leaving shore and just 20km away from it seeing a super curious blue whale?! 

The blue whale was showing off the tail to us! After that we could be close to a fin whale that looked like sleeping on the surface or even a sperm whale with a calf? 

It is possible and today was like that in Pico Island.

Photos by Miranda van der Linde & Rui Santos

Bottlenose dolphin with a remora (fish) attached to its body  - São Miguel

Bottlenose dolphin - São Miguel

Bottlenose dolphins - São Miguel

Bottlenose dolphins - São Miguel

Fin whale - São Miguel

Fin whale - São Miguel

Fin whale - São Miguel

Blue whale tail . Pico Island

Fin whale. Pico Island

Fin whale. Pico Island

Sperm whale tail. Pico Island

August 2013 sighting statistics

What a summer month with lots of cetaceans, but still with a springtime feeling because we have had many sightings of Bryde's whales (a baleen whale that doesn't migrate like the other rorquals during springtime, they stay in lower latitudes and are therefore also known as the tropical whale). Last month we had out first sighting of a Bryde's whale since 2008 and luckily our encounters with this species continued this month. Also we have had more sightings of Northern bottlenose whales and other beaked whales too, including breaching Sowerby's beaked whales (see video HERE). All in all we have sighted 8 species this month, 9 including an unidentified beaked whale encounter. And of course lots of encounters with our resident whale; the sperm whale with many familiar flukes, our famous "Mr. Liable" has been around and one day "Sumo wrestler" gave us a splendid show with breaching and lobtailing. We have seen other species around as well, a few encounters with hammerhead sharks, devil rays (see photos HERE), loggerhead turtles and during the dolphins feeding frenzies we have seen lots of blue marlins and tuna (yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna and bluefin tuna) as well as plenty of sea birds Cory's shearwaters, great shearwaters, Macaronesian shearwaters, yellowlegged seagulls and common terns.

Map of our cetacean sightings

• Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) - 97%
• Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) - 84%
• Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - 100%
• Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - 10%
• Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) - 3%
• Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens) - 3%
• Beaked whale spp. (Mesoplodon spp.) - 6%
• Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - 48%
• Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) - 19%

July 2016 sighting statistics

We are leaving the spring time behind and entering the true Azorean summer time. Now we are having mostly summer time sightings, although during July there were still a few late migrating sei whales and fin whales passing São Miguel. The most encountered whale during July was the sperm whale, with encounters during 68% of the days we went out to sea. The majority of the Atlantic spotted dolphins are still to arrive, but its great to finally be seeing them here now, later than in past years. The most encountered dolphin species were the common dolphin (100% sightings rate) followed by the bottlenose dolphin (97% sightings rate). This month we also had some surprise rare encounters with orcas (killer whales) one day, false killer whales another day and several species of beaked whales throughout the month. As usual, we also encountered loggerhead turtles manta rays and sharks, among other types of marine life that the Azores is well known for.

• Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)  - 100%
• Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) - 97%
• Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - 55%
• Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - 10%
• Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) - 16%
• Pilot whale (Globicaphala spp.) - 10%
• False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) - 3% 
• Orca/Killer whale (Orcinus orca) - 3%
• Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) - 3%
• Beaked whale species (Mesoplodon spp.) - 13%
• Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - 68%
• Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) - 13%
• Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) - 42%

Bryde's whale in the Azores

September has ended and left us with many nice memories of whales and dolphins. This month we have encountered 8 different cetacean species (sperm whale, sei whale, Bryde's whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin, Risso's dolphin and striped dolphin). The Bryde's whale (pictured on the left and below) was particularly special as it is a rare summer visitor that is not sighted often in the Azores. This month we have also been with some whale sharks that were really great to swim with! Now it seems that summer is leaving us very quickly, as we are experiencing some fresh northeasterlies.

Bryde's whale (identified by the three ridges on top of the head)

Dive sequence of a well known sperm whale (we call him Mr Liable) diving

Kogiids fact sheet

In the family of Kogiidae there are only two species, the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) and the dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) also called small sperm whales or kogiids. The dwarf sperm whale is the smallest species of cetacean classified as a whale, with a length of only 2.5 m and a weight of 272 kg (smaller than several dolphin species).

Similarities with the sperm whale

The kogiids have many similarities with their larger cousin the sperm whale, for example the blowhole is places slightly to the left of the head because of the nasal bones being asymmetrical. Also, the lower jaw is smaller and thinner then the upper jaw, and most of their teeth are suited in the lower jaw, and sometimes the teeth in the upper jaw never erupts.

They all have the spermaceti organ in their heads which contains a creamy yellowish-white wax which is used in the kogiids highly developed sound system (known as echolocation). The wax acts by focusing the whale's clicking sounds which echo through the large head. 

Characteristics 

Little is known about the kogiids as they are not often sighted in the wild. Most information comes from stranded individuals, and a few have survived strandings and been returned to the wild. Even with stranded individuals, genetic confirmation of the species is sometimes required to identify them. The global population and the trend of the kogiids are unknown. But, around the Hawaiian Island, the dwarf sperm whale is the sixth most commonly sighted toothed whale.

Kogiids are thought to be distributed in the deep waters throughout tropical and temperate zones and they may dive to depths up to 300 m where they feed on squid, fish (sometimes sharks) and crustaceans. They travel slowly at the surface, alone or in small groups of 6-10 individuals. 

In the lower portion of the intestine, there is a sac filled with reddish-brown liquid and if they are startled they release a cloud of this intestinal fluid. This is called the 'squid tactic', because it is similar to what squids and other cephalopod species do to avoid predators. The liquid creates a cloud that may discourage predators and/or causes a confusing diversion, allowing the whales to escape. A dwarf sperm whale can release as much as 12 liters. There is a very interesting report about this behaviour by Scott and Cordado (1987). A sighting of mother and calf after a purse-seine set was deployed on yellowfin tuna associated with a mixed school of pantropical spotted dolphins and spinner dolphins. The dwarf sperm whales were accidentally encircled. While inside the net, the female released into the water a cloud of reddish material, presumably faeces, 6-8 times during the course of the set. The mother released the faeces whenever a dolphin approached the calf, she then appeared to hide herself and the calf in the middle of the opaque cloud. 

Threats and conservation

Fishing

A few have been killed in gillnet fishery in Sri Lanka and perhaps other places. But it is not seen as a big threat to the kogiids. There are reports of by-catch in Brazilian driftnet fishery and in the north-east Atlantic fishery.

Plastic and other rubbish

Stranded individuals shows plastic and other rubbish in their stomachs, which blocks their intestinal tracks. Strandings also show specimens that had degenerative heart disease, immune system problems and heavy parasite infections.

Sound pollution

Naval sonar is known to have a negative affect on cetaceans and can cause strandings. How the sonar cause these problems in unclear and still being investigated. Most likely it causes physical trauma, like damage to the ears which are essential for the animals' echolocation system, used for navigation, communication and location of prey. Read more about how this effects beaked whales by clicking HERE.

Ship strikes

Because of their slow surface activity and logging they are vulnerable to ship strikes.

Hunting

This species was sometimes targeted by whalers that was hunting sperm whales during the 19th century but never commercially hunted. They have recently been taken in commercial harpoon and drive fisheries in Indonesia and Japan. It has also been reports of dwarf sperm whales harpooned in St. Vincent (the Lesser Antilles) when they were hunting pilot whales. And the meat has been reported found in fish markets in Sri Lanka.

2017 Whale and dolphin highlights

 

 Now that 2017 is over, it's time for us to think about what happened in this year and of course to continue studing and learning about this beautifull animals we are pationated with, 2017 has been a very interesting year for us in whale and dolphin watching off São Miguel:

A total of 16 different species were encountered this year. The most frequently sighted as usual have been our resident dolphin species, common and bottlenose dolphins, this is a tendency that we see every year with this species as there are some families that are living around our island. Our other resident species, the Risso's dolphin are always less sighted here in São Miguel, but in this year this species was seen every month, at least once.

This has been a very good year of sighting of our resident whale, the sperm whale as we can see in the image below; this is a whale species that may be encounter all along the year but is clearly more encountered in early summer, during the summer and in the late summer, but present all along the year.

Atlantic spotted dolphins have been a surprise this year as they have stayed with us for a very long time this year, they started appearing in the month of June, giving a very good welcome to the summer and they stayed up to December; not only that they have been very encountered, but the encounters with these ones have been great: very big groups of them full of babies. Our swimming with dolphins’ activities were very successfully with this species this year, not only because of the big size of the groups, but also because of their especially curious behaviour of this year ;)

 Fin whale was also a species sighted significantly, mainly during our spring months but also summer and autumn. This whale species it is not considered resident of the Azores, but even though it is true that these whales are seen in spring and summer time during their migrations, for the last years this species have been seen (not very often) around of our island even in winter time, so who knows... We certainly need more studies

Out of the baleen whales that are found in the Azores, three species have had a different behaviour compared to previous years:

-The big surprise were the Bryde's whales, since 2013 and before that 2009 that we didn't see them, this year we had some several individuals, including a calf.

-Blue whales this year were very abundant if compared with other years

-Sei whales were also kind of a surprise as they are usually sighted in spring summer time, but this 2017 appeared with a great abundance in September, October, November and even in December!

We never know what we will see so we can expect a surprise at any time of the year from any species. As well as whales and dolphins we have also registered many sightings of turtles, ocean sunfish, manta rays, sharks, tuna, swordfish, flying fish, jellyfish and several species of seabirds. 

Our graphs below summarise our cetacean (whale and dolphins) sighting frequencies.

We hope you can join us in 2018!

 

Summary of our encounters all along 2017

 In this graphs below we summarise some of our cetaceans (whale and dolphins) sighting frequencies

This are all of the species and the frequencies of the sightings, as we said resident species are the most sighted ones as usual, this year Atlantic spotted dolphins have a speciel highlight