Azores: 13 sperm whales

On Monday the lookout said there were more whales than the group of six that has been here for over a week. So off we went to the south again.

The first few whales we encountered appeared to be socialising, but did not show us their flukes and , one even breached out of the water (no photo unfortunately). The next group, however, settled into a nice rhythm of up and fluke. I don’t think we had more than ten minutes without a whale at the surface. I think at one point we had nine individuals up at the same time spread over half a mile.

After sorting out the photos, I could discern 13 different individuals. So far there is only one match going back to 2009, but I still have a few more individuals to check.

The weather is looking good for the coming week, so hopefully the animals will continue to co-operate.