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For me, Sperm Whales are the most fascinating animal on the planet. They sum up every superlative in the book, so Channel 4’s excellent ‘Inside Nature’s Giants Special’ episode on Sperm Whales last night had me completely gripped from start to finish! And all the more so, since the footage of the living whales was taken exactly where Naturetrek’s ‘Whales & Dolphins of the Azores’ tour is based ...
Sperm Whale
If you’re at all interested in whales, you will probably have watched Channel 4‘s ‘Sperm Whale - Inside Nature’s Giants Special’ programme last night with great fascination. In the programme, a male Sperm Whale which had stranded on a beach in the south coast of England was dissected. As the dissection progresses, the extraordinary life history and physiology of this amazing species is revealed, and footage of the dissection is mixed with that of living whales in the waters around the Azores.
Despite having a Zoology background, I’m not generally too keen on watching dissections; however, Sperm Whales lead such an extraordinary life - at extreme depths, with seemingly impossible demands placed on their bodies, that you can only really start to understand their submarine lives when you understand how perfectly their bodies are adapted for their lifestyle. The programme made for captivating viewing, but all the more so for me, as the footage of the living whales shot in the Azores was taken from the same boat and team we go out with on our ‘Whales & Dolphins of the Azores’ tour.
The Azores:
The Azores archipelago is one of the best whale and dolphin watching locations in the world. Peak season is from May to October, and there’s an excellent variety of species, including year-round sightings of Sperm Whales.
A quarter of all the known species of whales and dolphins have been recorded in the waters around the Azores archipelago, which comprises nine islands lying about a third of the way across the Atlantic between Portugal and North America, and which rise out of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Sperm Whales & the Azores:
If you want to see Sperm Whales in Europe, the Azores is the place to go! The underwater volcanic topography of the Azores makes it ideal for some of the deep-diving whale species and there are many species of dolphin here too. However, Sperm Whales are the star attraction and the Azores is one of the best places in the world to see this species, arguably the most fascinating of all the whales - and my personal favourite. Sperm Whales are here all year round, and in the summer mothers with calves are a regular sight.
During our 6-day ‘Whales & Dolphins of the Azores’ holiday, we go out on six half-day trips out at sea, weather permitting, and we may also listen to the whales’ feeding clicks or social vocalisations, which adds another dimension to an encounter.
Other species seen around the Azores …
Short-finned Pilot Whales, Short-beaked Common Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Atlantic Spotted Dolphins and Risso’s Dolphins are all commonly seen around the Azores. If you are very lucky, there’s a chance of encountering Blue, Fin or Sei Whales, and False Killer Whale. Several of the beaked whales including Sowerby’s Beaked Whale, Cuvier’s Beaked Whale and Northern Bottlenose Whale are seen here, though sightings are always unpredictable and sporadic.
To find out more about Naturetrek’s 6-day ‘Whales & Dolphins of the Azores’ holiday, click here.