We had our very first summer whale-watching trip from Bleik, Andøya, today, and it was a blast.
First, we encountered a large group of long-finned pilot whales. They were traveling slowly with short breaks to socialize. We have also seen young calves with the group.
The pilot whales were quite curious; they were spy-hopping next to our boat.
Suddenly, we saw a swift movement between the pilot whales. For the first time, we spotted Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
These dolphins have very unique coloration on their bodies, with a distinctive yellow stripe towards the tail fluke on the lower part of their bodies.
Atlantic white-sided dolphins are typically found in northern regions. A very agile and acrobatic species.
It looked like they were interacting with the pilot whales; they were swimming side by side, often approached our boat as well, and rode our bow.
Every time the pilot whales returned from a longer dive, the dolphins started to show some acrobatic behavior and jumped out of the water. I assume out of joy that the pilot whales returned.
Atlantic white-sided dolphins are often observed in mixed schools with other species, including pilot whales, white-beaked dolphins, and occasionally baleen whales, such as humpback and fin whales.
This behavior must give the dolphins some advantage, for example, against predators.
These kinds of interspecies interactions are always sooo special
A day never to forget.
At the end of our trip, we visited Bleiksøya to see the puffins
Welcome everyone to Andøya this summer!
Enjoy!
-Krisztina
Leave a Reply