NEWS

The crazy Dutch Cetaceans days continue with a sighting of a humpback whale observed from and with the @zeezichtcastricum crew, while searching for the beluga whale. The beluga has not been sighted today. Also a dead Minke whale washed up in Zeeland today.. The humpback whale has been seen at several locations south from Castricum over the last 2 weeks but this is the first time that he or she was passing by "our" beach while heading North. Crazy days. #humpbackwhale #baleenwhale #landbasedwhalewatching #castricumaanzee #zeezichtcastricum #crazydays #dutchwildlife #northsea

Today the beluga whale passed by our Dutch home base at Castricum aan Zee. We saw her cruising South at 13:00 from Egmond aan Zee. Apart from the many visitors who were observing this animal from land we saw some disturbance by a local boat, and there was at least one drone flying super low above the animal. In the Azores the legal minimum altitude is 15 meters. Hopefully the beluga will turn back North. We lost track of him or her after 15:30. This situation is just super bizarre and we are wondering who is in charge of protecting the wellbeing of wild animals such as this one, since things may get a bit out of hand here. Meanwhile, if you don’t work with cetaceans, don’t have a special permit for studying wildlife: please don’t send your drone above them or get close to them with your fishing or pleasure boat, but stay at a respectful distance where you won’t disturb the animal. (Thank you). #dutchwildlife? #beluga #belugawhale #northsea #visitor #northseacoast #castricumaanzee #egmondaanzee #noordholland #monitoring #landbasedwhalewatching

Standing on top of a high dune we were finally able to see the Beluga Whale today. And how crazy it was to see a large and completely white body breaking through the waters of the North Sea. This solitary animal has been observed for over a week now roaming the waters of the Dutch North Sea between Camperduin and Den Helder. At noon the animal seemed to follow the coastline, maintaining a rocksteady speed while travelling North. After the first excitement I could not help it but I felt sorry for the animal. Belugas are known to live in fission -fusion societies and may group together in large herds of hundreds or thousands in river estuaries for feeding and calving. They are highly social and vocal cetaceans. There are some indications that, similar to “our” Risso’s dolphins, strong non-related bonds appear. One individual being alone, going up and down in a habitat where it doesn’t belong is just super odd to observe….. Let’s see what happens in the next few days … #beluga #northsea #landbasedwhalewatching #whitewhale #delphinapterusleucas #dwaalgast #extremevisitor

Waving goodbye to the old year and diving into the new one! Happy holidays! Illustration: @karin_hartman_illustrations #humpbackwhale #motherandcalf #merrychristmas🎄 #happy2026 #mixedmédia

After leaving the field on September 14 it has been a bit silent on this channel. Today we processed the last Photo ID count from a very intense day in August and completed the 2025 Ocean log. Here are some quick fieldwork 2025 totals: 88 surveys at sea, during 235 hours. We found Risso’s in 70 surveys and identified 121 social units or groups, with a maximum count of 1,588 individuals. These numbers include resightings of the same animals and clusters. We covered 3,421 km, but only encountered 5 newborn babies, observed in July and August, all from pretty unknown females. Our 'master' male pod IKB won the 'Most-sighted Gg’ award; we observed them again over 23 times. But they also disappeared for almost 2 months, something that never happened before... More data updates soon. #fieldwork2025 #research #effort #rissosdolphin #longtermresearch #azores #pico #newborns #maleallies #alliances #socialstructure #socialecology #behaviouralscience #marinebiology

Yesterday we participated in another very successful instance of the annual Nature Day fundraising dinner organized by @globeguards and hosted by @burgerszoo. During the evening we received the sad news of the passing of Jane Goodall. This was commemorated with a spontaneous one minute of silence, during which the only sound we heard was that of the whistling frogs in Burgers’ Bush. Jane Goodall started her research on chimpanzees as one of the three ‘Leaky’s Angels’, named after Louis Leakey. He was an archeologist and paleontologist who determined that women would be better suited than men to perform fieldwork on primates, and he commissioned the research performed by Jane Goodall and the other two ‘angels’: Dian Fossey (Gorillas) and Biruté Galdikas (Orangutans). We like to remember Jane by showing the animals that inspired her and her fellow “angel” scientists and conservationists. Copyright: Illustrations of Jane Goodall’s first study animals taken from the book “My life with chimpanzees”; the picture of the young silverback Digit from “Gorillas in the mist”, by Dian Fossey; and an Orangutan taken from “Reflections of Eden”, by Biruté Galdikas. #natureconservation #ripjanegoodall #dianfossey #birutegaldikas #ethology #longtermresearch #primates #futurefornature #globeguards #dagvandenatuur #burgerszoo #fundraiser #davidgreybeard #flo #flint #goliath #digit

Mid August Breach #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #breach #subadult #marinelife #longtermresearch #azores #pico #nikond500 #fieldwork

This summer we have seen a lot of mixed species groups. Have a look at this go pro footage taken on a pole from our research vessel of a rather rare combination: Common dolphins and short-finned pilot whales.. #mixedspecies #delphinusdelphis #globicephala #globicephalamacrorhynchus #commondolphin #shortfinnedpilotwhale #azores #atlanticocean #fieldwork

The weather is changing.. more rain and swell and IKB is back.. The Iconic finless male S11c in front of Santa Cruz das Ribeiras. #ribeiras #bay #IKBay #s11c #infront #rainbows #azores #pico #fieldwork #august #atlantic #openocean #wildandfree #cetaceansofinstagram #cetaceans #oceanconservation #residents #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #grampus #males

That funny moment, just before dinner time when Risso's are going crazy.. #gottalovegg #rissosrule #lateafternoonsnack #torpedotime #deepblue #foraging #ic12 #behaviouranalysis #socialecology #marinemammal #cetaceans #cetaceansofinstagram #azores #longtermresearch #fieldworkseason26

Two days ago, we had a Sperm whale calf inspecting our boat, popping up out of nowhere. Later, the footage shot from the boat with the GoPro camera showed a mutilated lower jaw. The baby moved away, found an adult female and was nursed for some minutes. Hopefully she will be able to catch her own prey someday. -Sperm whales found by @xvera_z #spermwhales #calves #mutilated #marinemammals #mothercare #matrilineal #cetaceans #goprolife #goprohero10 #research #fieldwork

In loving memory: Mel Cosentino (1979-2025) At the start of this week the sad news reached us that Mel Cosentino passed away. Mel has been connected to our work since 2008, when she kindly collected a so called “friend of a friend“, from the airport of Malaga, completely willing to help and super interested in our upcoming research project. After we met in Spain, we became friends. In 2010, Mel conducted an internship at Pico Island. There she laid the base for our Killer whale and Northern Bottlenose whale ID catalogue resulting in several conference posters. Mel could be trusted with delicate work such as the preparation of skin samples for DNA analysis, a task that often took place late at night after a long day at sea. Mel was a hard worker, often accompanied by her cup of Mate tea. Also, she had a unique and great sense of humor. We will remember Mel as a super dedicated and talented cetaceanologist (she had a sweater with this word on it) with a strong heart for the conservation of nature and marine mammals. It is hard to accept that somebody who worked so hard was taken away at such a young age. Last week, we were still talking about Hyperoodon acoustics, and the flying cockroaches (barata’s) on Pico Island. We wish all her beloved ones and friends a lot of strength to get over this intense loss.

“When the cat’s away the mice will play” - The favourite pictures of the interns 🙂 1. “Zusje” one of our resident Risso’s 2. Spyhopping northern bottlenose whales 3. Pilot whales enjoying the calm sea 4. Striped dolphins jumping with the boat 5. Racing flying fish (50 km/h) 6. Nursing sperm whales 7. Circling Hyperoodon 8. A dorsal and a tail from the Risso’s 9. Pilot whale showing the short-finned flippers #atlantic #azores #ribeiras #photooftheday #pictureofthedays #marinemammal #whalesofinstagram #research #fieldwork #rissosdolphins #grampus #spermwhale #pilotwhale #hyperoodonampullatus #stripeddolphin #flyingfish #marinebiology

The Majestic Northern bottlenose whales are back! #hyperoodonampullatus #grampas #beakedwhale #spyhop #butskoppen #bulblicious #delicius #ribeiras

Pseudoorca crassidens breaching 😮😵‍💫🤠#wildcetaceans #falsekillerwhale #atlanticocean #zeus #blackfish #breaching #breachingwhales #picoisland #research #fieldworkresearch #novaatlantisfoundation

The last full July moon created a "blackfish" baby-boom, but we are still lacking encounters with Risso’s dolphin nurseries and the 2025 newborns.. (although some sightings have been recorded by several local whale watching companies).. #babyboom #blackfish #shortfinnedpilotwhale #falsekillerwhale #neonate #newborns #newbornshoot #globicephala #pseudorcacrassidens #pico #azores #research #marinemammalconservation #fieldwork #femalesandcalves

This is a video summary of the social interaction and mating event between one temporarily “kidnapped" female Risso’s dolphin, and about 15 adult male Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. This movie contains adult content. #intraspecific #hybrids #mating #marinemammal #cetaceans #atlanticocean #socialecology #socialbehaviour #rare_footage #goprohero10 #research #marinebiology #fieldwork2025 #mixedspecies

Last week we witnessed the kidnapping of a young female Risso’s dolphin by a subset of a large group of Atlantic (offshore) bottlenose dolphins. While we were observing a group of around 8 juveniles mixed with sub-adult Risso’s dolphins, a field with ‘big blows” entered the area. About 12 large Tursiops approached the Risso’s and started to chase them. After 15 minutes they successfully separated one female, and started a multiple mating event. But first she was beaten, bitten and exhausted by the male bottlenose dolphins. There was blood in the water and the female tried to escape but was blocked by the males. All in all, the Tursiops males assaulted the Risso’s female for more than an hour. The rest of the bottlenose dolphins’ group stayed at some distance, but as soon as they started travelling towards the south-west the bullies left the Risso’s dolphin, one by one. We followed the completely exhausted animal for 45 minutes at a respectful distance. Slowly, she was recovering and coming back to life. We left her alone and were a bit surprised that she did not merge with her former mates, who apparently had ‘left the building’. Bottlenose dolphins are renowned for their aggressive consortships. Possible hybrids between Tursiops and Grampus have been observed in Scotland. Let’s see what comes out of this crazy event. Here are some pictures, video is next. #grampus #rissosdolphin #tursiopstruncatus #mating #aggression #marinemammals #interspecific #hybrids #dominance #pico #azores #research #animalbehaviour #behaviouralecology #fieldwork #atlanticocean #delicatemoments

IKB was around last week and we are looking at their formation states, breathing events and forthcoming actions.. a lot of naughty stuff to look at.... #dataanalysis #dataprocessing #officework #data #marinemammalresearch #cetaceansofinstagram #rissosdolphin #malealliances #matingseason #matingsystem #politicsintheocean

Let’s see if the pilot whales invasion will take place during and after the strawberry June moon.. ##almostfullmoon🌔 #stawberrymoon #june #migration #squid #intothewild #intothelight #oceanicmigrations #dayandnight #deepseadiver #globicephala #grampusgriseus #fieldworkresearch #binoculars #dailysurveys #gottolovethemoon

Kogia's in the ocean, last week. #kogia #spermwhales #azores #worldoceansday #fieldwork #marinemammals #raresightings #protecttheocean

The third Keep on Gramping Workshop took place on May 12 at Ponta Delgada. More than 30 Risso's researchers attended the workshop, sharing their latest findings and discussing current trends in the NE Atlantic region and the Med. Sea. To be continued! We were able to collect some data during the first week of May on Pico on board of a local whale watch company. Back again since yesterday and hopefully we will be running soon with our own vessel " Moleiro”. KOG! Here are some captured moments of events from May 2025! #fieldwork #ecs2025 #keepongramping #collaboration #research #marinemammalresearch #ngo #cetaceansofinstagram #cetaceans #atlanticocean #ribeiras #letsgooooo

Views with blue skies! #backonpico #fieldworkresearch #fieldwork2025 #rissoproject #novaatlantisfoundation #azores #picoisland #midatlantic #atlanticocean #europe #landsurvey #landsurveying #dataisdata

Dear Risso’s dolphin enthusiasts, We are excited to announce that our workshop, Keep on Gramping 3.0, has been officially accepted for the 2025 European Cetacean Society Conference in Ponta Delgada! Workshop Details: Date: May 12th, 2025 ⏰ Time: Half-day morning session Location: University of the Azores Format: Fully hybrid (in-person & remote participation) Many of you were already aware that we were working on this, and now it is officially confirmed! Information about the workshop will be uploaded soon on the ECS website too. Call for Presentations: We will kick off the workshop with a series of brief presentations (5-10 minutes) from researchers worldwide, focusing on Risso’s dolphins. Our aim is to provide a broad perspective on the current status of the species across different regions, with a particular emphasis on conservation. If you’d like to present your latest findings on the Risso’s dolphin population you study, we invite you to submit a proposal! To apply, please send an email to me [arianna.fornaroli@outlook.com] and/or Karin Hartman [oceanwatch@gmail.com] with: Your name & affiliation - Title of your presentation - Study area covered - Whether you’ll attend in person or remotely (for logistic reasons) Please note that due to time constraints, we may not be able to accommodate all presentation requests. However, we will keep you updated as the program takes shape. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share them! Looking forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing many of you in Ponta Delgada. ✨ Best, Arianna & Karin

Today is a good day for a pic of Jolly Jumper. #grampus #grampusgriseus #longtermresearch #marinebiology #marinemammals #azores #pico #novaatlantisfoundation

Have a look at Donatello the pilot whale that is our record holder in terms of deployment time of a satellite tag: on 5 January he reached 180 days almost 6 months! During the first five months he seemed totally resident around Madeira but in the last month he started moving- to the Canary islands displaying a totally different movement profile. That reminds us that findings based on short deployments have limited value unless you have a sufficient number of deployments. We deployed 4 other satellite tags on pilot whales in cooperation with Filipe Alves and @Marc Fernandez from MARE Madeira this summer and they already had tagged 16 pilot whales before that. So we are hopeful that this combination will produce some meaningful insights into pilot whales’ dsitribution patterns in Macaronesia. @filipealves787 @pietervanderharst @karin_l_hartman @martijnvanschie79 @debbyopreis #satellite #pilotwhales #researchcollaboration #novaatlantisfoundation #maremadeira #natureconservation #movebank #wildlifeconservation #animalmovement #satelitetracking #globicephala #globicephalamacrorhynchus

New book! We were invited to rewrite the Chapter on Risso’s dolphins for the Handbook of Marine Mammals, Volume 1: Coastal Dolphins and Porpoises, edited by T. A. Jefferson and the book is out! Hartman, KL., Chen, I; Hodgins, N; Ames, A. and P. van der Harst 2024. Risso’s dolphin, Grampus griseus, Cuvier 1812, Ch7 in Handbook of Marine Mammals (Vol 1: Coastal Dolphins and Porpoises, ed. Jefferson TA). Elsevier Inc. Pp 267-265. The volume consists of species review chapters written by leading global experts on a variety of dolphins and porpoises. Each chapter includes a description of the species followed by sections on distribution and abundance, anatomy, physiology, behaviour, ecology, reproduction, parasites, diseases, and the impacts of human activities on the species. The book is for sale in the Elsevier shop. #marinebiology #grampusgriseus #rissosdolphin #deepdivers #pelagic #pelagicworldwide #literaturereview #updated #novaatlantisfoundation #expertknowledge

Merry Christmas! @karin_hartman_illustrations #xmas #ice #humpbackwhale #migration #cold #aquarelle #loveandpeace

With sadness we announce the passing of a dear friend and great artist, Zoltan Korai. Zoltan helped us many times with the development and design of animations to explain results of our research to a broader audience. Here we show Zoltan’s social structure animation, with artwork from another dear friend and talented artist Nóra Meszáros. #thankyou @zoz_korai @noorimeeszaaros

Aighh… we lost contact with Marley after 124 days of tracking! Donnie is our last Gmac running and circling the southern waters of Madeira. Time to thank all volunteers, interns, local vigia’s, guides, skippers and the visiting researchers for their efforts to make this campaign a success and to keep our overall fieldwork running!! PS Sorry @debbyopreis for not having a head.. its the day after Halloween... #fieldwork2024 #thanks #azores #pico #atlanticocean

Marley, one of five pilot whales on which we deployed a satellite tag this summer, has reached 122 days to date! She has been making large circles, covering at least 7,300 km, around the central and eastern group of the Azores archipelago, visiting the south coast of Pico three times during this period. Our second longest deployment has been on Donatello, with 101 days to date. This individual shows quite a different pattern, remaining firmly resident on the southeast coast of Madeira. Although Donatello clearly moves around, his average distance per day is 21 km, one third of Marley’s 61 km. It is fascinating to see such diverse movement patterns between animals throughout Macaronesia! #novaatlantisfoundation #maremadeira #conservation #researchcollaboration #animalmovements #satellite #MOVEBank #wildlifecomputers #Pilotwhale #globicephala

While we stopped our field work almost two weeks ago, two pilot whales continue to generate new data on their whereabouts. Here you see the route of our record-keeper ‘Marley’. We deployed a satellite tag on 20 June, and so far she has been giving us 104 days of location data! Our number two is called ‘Donatello’ and has reached 84 days today, with all locations transmitted close to the south coast of Madeira. Have a look at Marley’s travel path: 3 months in 10 seconds! #novaatlantisfoundation #maremadeira #conservation #animalmovements #satellite #MOVEBank #wildlifecomputers #Pilotwhale #globicephala

It’s done……we made the last trip of the 2024 season, packed our stuff just after the full moon, closed the station, and changed worlds. Time to reflect on the hottest summer ever: We made 102 surveys in 4 months and 4 days. A total of 270 hours spent at sea and countless hours scanning and searching from land. We crossed 2,580 km of water and saw animals during every trip. At sea, we identified 159 groups of our key species, the Risso’s dolphin (a minimum of 1,176 and a max of 1,329 animals counted). These number may look impressive but around a third of all sightings concerned our resident males from the IKB group. Overall, we see less nurseries in summertime and merely encounter the same groups with very few variations. Over the winter we will work out our data and hand over our report to DRAM, the local entity that provides us with the research permit. #marinebiology #cetaceans #fullmoon #fieldworkers #fieldwork24 #25thseason #grampus #longtermresearch #mpa #conservation #azores #pico #atlanticocean

Their nickname in Dutch is “InKeping (notch)-Bulls”, which became IKB. And also this season they win the gold medal for being the most resident, most sighted (47 at sea! ) and best organised, “paired” male cluster. Long may they rule the South coast of Pico! 💪🏼🤗🩵 #males #malecetaceans #rissodolphins #grampusgriseus #marinemammals #alliances #socialbonds #malesquad #resident #whalesofinstagram #atlantic #ocean #picoisland #azores #research #conservation #fieldwork #behaviourecology #sighting #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #nikon #gopro #keepongramping

A glimpse back to June: some crazy spotted dolphins, almost jumping inside the boat... 😅 Only the sky is the limit! 🐬🩵 #spotteddolphins #stenellafrontalis #jump #flyhigh #behaviour #research #conservation #fieldwork #memory #highlight #cetaceans #marinemammals #dolphins #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #nikon #nikonphotography #natgeo #natgeophotography #novaatlantisteam #keepongramping

After two weeks of ‘Easterlies’ (high swell, choppy seas), the last part of our fieldwork season has not been easy. But in between we were able to go out and Neptune had some surprises in stock for us. First, we saw a huge group with around 80 Risso’s dolphins, travelling within their own social unit, but it looked like the entire population was starting a migration! Plus, we finally re-sighted the mother of our first newborn of this season in the group, but unfortunately without her baby. She was consorted by the IKB males for which she shows a strong preference. And there was a lot to choose from! In the front of this field, we found a very famous resident lady (M1c) with her 6 th (!) confirmed newborn calf. We have known this female since 2004, and interestingly her firstborn, a male, was also present in this field, as a proper adult. So, with the loss of newborn no. 1 but the counter of newborns at 12, who would expect another nursery popping up on the verge of autumn in front of our research station including 3 (!) newborns? Wow! A total of 15 babies have been sighted by us during our 2024 fieldwork, which is a lot compared to the very lean last couple of years. However, half of their mothers are unknown to us (not in our catalogue), and the groups don’t stay in the area but only seem to pass by. We hope they are surfing the high waves at the moment! #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #baby #calf #yellowhead #newborn #counter #mothers #migration #observation #marinemammals #cetaceans #whalesofinstagram #research #conservation #fieldwork #easterlies #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeophotography #nikon #nikonphotography #novaatlantisfoundation #keepongramping

The summer months are the calving season for several resident species in the Azores including Risso’s dolphins. Well, this has been a successful year since we encountered 11 single new-born babies. But the condition of several neonates was abnormal. For example, “Newborn nr 1” was super small and skinny. We only saw the mother-calf couple twice within the same week and have no current record on the status of the baby. Newborn nr 2 was covered in some sort of strange grey film, which gradually faded but then the baby appeared with a damaged dorsal fin. Since this mother-calf pair was often found alone, we assume that the calf has been targeted by a predator, while the mother was foraging below, in the deep-sea. It is super strange that a female roams alone with her newborn; this a new pattern that we don’t understand. Normally mothers with calves’ swim in a nursery with other mothers and calves, and they take turns babysitting on each other’s offspring when the mother is foraging. Newborn number 10 showed signs of mechanical scarring and had a bent and damaged dorsal fin. We also saw “normal” looking calves like NB 3, 4, 5, 9 and 11. We can only hope that all calves will make it through the first crucial months and hope to see them back alive and kicking. 1-NB1, at 13/06 2-NB1 at 20/06 3-NB 2, at 24/06 4-NB 2, detail dorsal NB2 in August 5-NB 3 & 4, sighted at 11/07 and 14/07 6-NB 5, sighted at 14/07 7-NB 9, sighted at 20/08 8-NB 10, sighted at 24/08 and 27/08 9-NB 10, detail dorsal NB11 10-NB 11, sighted 24/08 and 27/08 #neonates #babies #grampusgriseus #rissosdolphins #calvingseason #marinemammals #atlanticocean #longtermresearch #novaatlantisfoundation

Risso's female and her baby..😍 #marinelife #newlife #neonatebabies #smallies #easterlies #autumn #greylight #novaatlantisfoundation #azores #picoftheday #nursery #cetaceanresearch #grampusgriseus #grampus #rissosdolphin #precious

Social interactions between Risso's and bottlenose dolphins. #marinebiology #marinemammals #oceanicdolphins #tursiopstruncatus #grampusgriseus #brainmass #intelligence #animalbehavior #animalbehaviour #pico #azores #novaatlantisfoundation

It seems that we finally have a fixed nursery this season with 7 females and calves.There are some naughty calves in this group, one of which checks out our boat and turns upside down, a dominant display.. Could it be a male? 👀 #marinebiology #marinemammals #cetaceanresearch #cetaceansocieties #nursery #mothercalf #grampus #grampusgriseus #rissosdolphin #azores #azoresislands #picoisland #ribeiras #atlanticocean #mpa #natureconservation #novaatlantisfoundation

Bottlenose vs Risso’s dolphins.. or the other way around? #mixedspecies #tursiopstruncatus #grampus #grampusgriseus #atlanticbottlenosedolphin #brainmass #socialinteractions #ecology #animalbehaviour #atlanticocean #ribeiras #pico #gopro #marinemammals #deepsea #highseas #alliances #socialintelligence #novaatlantisfoundation #fieldworkresearch #bioacoustics #array #soundtrap #hydrophonesession #azoresislands #azoresportugal

Little Brother is watching you! #rissosdolphin #calves #neonate #mothercalfpair #grampus #rissoproject #fieldwork2024 #novaatlantisfoundation #gopro #nikon #nursery #atlanticocean #azoresislands #pico #ribeiras

Keep on Gramping! 🌧🌫 #rain #fieldwork #water #grampingintherain #atlanticocean #rissosdolphin #grampus #nikonphotography #graphicscenes

Rainbow over Risso’s! And finally some rain after a crazy long dry and hot period! #climatechange #rissosdolphin #grampus #azores #azoresislands #atlanticocean #rainbow #rain #novaatlantisfoundation #rissoproject #keepongramping #grampingsince2000

Although we spend most of our hours at sea with Risso’s dolphins, there are the other precious moments with unique creatures and surprises… 1-Common octopus 2-Sei whale (on the way in) 3-Giant devil ray’s 4-Loggerhead turtle 5-Leatherback turtle 6-Hundreds of Atlantic spotted dolphins #sealife #seaanimals #commonoctopus #seiwhale #mobula #ᴅᴇᴠɪʟʀᴀʏꜱ #loggerheadturtle #loggerhead #leatherback #atlanticspotteddolphin #stenellafrontalis #borealis #octopusvulgaris #mpa #naturephotography #gopro #gopro10 #nikon #picoftheday #naturephotography #nature #novaatlantisfoundation #pico #azores #azoresislands #atlanticocean #fieldworkresearch

Marley, the short-finned pilot whale (tag nr 3) has been tracked for more than 50 days in a row. Have a look at the journey she made so far in the Azorean archipelago! If we connect the satellite positions, she covered over 3500 km from June 20 till August 10, with an average of 68 km per day. Since the tags only transmit data during selected sets of the day to save battery, this is just a minimal representation of distance covered per day and super rough data. Our 5th and last tag was deployed on July 10 off Madeira on a pilot whale that we named Donatello. He or she is super resident but also moves around 54 km per day, however, using a small home range. #shortfinnedpilotwhales #globicephala #satellitetracking #animaltracking #movebank #marinemammalconservationproject #climatechange #toppredetor #residency #hightechnology #fieldwork2024 #science #maremadeira #novaatlantisfoundation #macaronesia #azores #azoresislands #madeiraisland #picoisland #ribeiras #atlanticocean

Ribeiras Bay is a place where many different cetacean species can show up close to shore. Three days ago a group of more than 25 false killer whales passed by, calmly following the coastline. Some of them came close to inspect our boat.. Besides playful subadults and several females and calves, we saw the large male “Zeus” a well-known individual to the Azorean false killer whale catalogue. The water is warm and several tuna species are around so over the last days these impressive predators have been regularly sighted in our waters. #falsekillerwhales #pseudoorcacrassidens #blackfish #toppredator #zeus #photoidentification #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #species #tuna #ecosystem #fieldwork2024 #novaatlantisfoundation #research #conservation #picoftheday #Pico #azores #MPA #atlantic #ocean #natgeo #natgeophotography #gopro #underwaterphotography #nikon #photooftheday #keepongramping

Summer is here and the seawater is getting warmer and warmer. The Risso’s are harder to find and less abundant.  On days with flat seas the more elusive species, like beaked whales, are a bit easier to observe, especially when they start to go crazy and breach 40 times in a row and fully show their gracious bodies! 😍😍 #mesoplodons #mesoplodonbidens #beakedwhale #breaching #mysticcreatures #fantasticanimals #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #wildlifephotography #atlantic #ocean #azores #pico #island #fieldwork #atsea #research #conservation #rissoproject #novaatlantisfoundation #keepongramping

The week of the "Blackfish" baby boom! (false killer whales and short-finned pilot whales) #marinelife #marinebiology #research #conservation #fieldwork #cetaceans #marinemammals #blackfish #falsekillerwhales #pseudorcacrassidens #pilotwhales #globicephala #whalesofinstagram #babyboom #newborn #baby #calf #encounter #atlantic #ocean #wildlife #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #nikon #nikonphotography #keepongramping

Adult male Risso’s dolphins off Pico island form stable groups with non-related males of the same age class. The bigger the group, the more challenging it is to ‘keep the peace’, since they are also each other’s competitors for reproduction. Thus, we have seen groups break up into smaller units. Last week we saw the group called ’Sao Joao males’ in full force (13 males), after having split up into two groups some years ago. The “A section” and the “B section” came together, but not before fighting, headbutting and tailslapping at each other. A lot of displays of strength! Let’s see if they continue together, or split up again.. #malemammals #socialstructure #socialbehaviour #grampus #grampusgriseus #rissosdolphin #longtermrelationship #longtermresearch #rissoproject #novaatlantisfoundation #azores #picoisland #picoislandazores #saojoaomales #cluster #clusteranalysis #dominance #friendship #gopro #goprophotography #natgeo #natgeowild #keepongramping

Now something different! Since 2018 we have seen a strong increase in the presence of pilot whales off Pico, while the Risso’s dolphins showed a steady decline. This may be related to climate change. To find out more about the distribution patterns of pilot whales we have teamed up with fellow scientists from MARE, Madeira, who are modelling their movement patterns using satellite tags. Together, we managed to deploy four tags on pilot whales off Pico in the 3rd week of June. Combined with the 15 tags already deployed on pilot whales off Madeira, this gives us a good basis to analyze this species’ movements across Macaronesia. We hope to also find clues as to the likelihood of pilot whales displacing our focal species, the Risso’s dolphin, around Pico. Have a look at the animation showing the paths of the four short-finned pilot whales Debby, Anna, Marley and Marthino in the first 17 days. Thanks to our June team who spotted and searched for hours to find and track pilot whales from land (Debby, Martijn, Tom, Tessa and Laura), local viziers (Luís, João and Adrien) and funding from WWF Netherlands, Fact Finding Foundation, Globe Guards and individual sponsors and to ARDITI / MARE (Filipe and Marc) for their overall cooperation and deploying the tags! You can follow pilot whales day to day using this link: https://www.movebank.org/cms/webapp?gwt_fragment=page%3Dsearch_map_linked%2CsensorTypeId%3D82798%2CstudyIds%3D4044018643%2Clat%3D37.23872257556807%2Clon%3D-28.139618888075958%2Cz%3D8 #marinebiology #marineconservation #marinemammals #animalmovements #nomadsoftheseas #novaatlantisfoundation #maremadeira #conservation #telemetry #shortfinnedpilotwhale #atlanticocean #globicephala #gmacs #blackfish #cheetahsofthedeep #grampus #research #seamount #offshore #pelagic

Today we present a short film on a newborn Risso’s dolphin in which you can see some rare allocare behaviour filmed on 13 and 20 June 2024. This calf is super small and skinny. We hope it will survive… but haven’t seen the couple after the 2nd sighting… PS. Allocare in cetaceans is described as supportive care provided for conspecific young by individuals other than the genetic parents. #marinebiology #marinemammals #nursery #femalecetaceans #allomaternalcare #allocare #neonate #newborn #newbornbaby #rissosdolphin #grampus #azoresislands #azores #picoisland #research #fieldworkresearch #fieldwork24 #novaatlantisfoundation #keepongramping

Lots of chasing and racing lately... The mating season is on! #male #race #female #chase #mating #strategies #matingseason #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #fieldwork #atsea #research #conservation #behaviour #behaviourecology #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #nikon #nikonphotography #keepongramping

S11c (Oscar) taking off to chase a female... 😍 #male #oscar #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #dorsalfin #jump #behaviour #chasingfemales #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #research #conservation #fieldwork #atsea #atlantic #azores #azoresislands #pico #ribeiras #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #nikon #nikonphotography #keepongramping

Times are changing! Yesterday we saw a group of 4 Hyperoodons. That is very EARLY in the season! Thanks to vizier Adrien/Futurismo for sharing the sighting info. 👀 PS: We also saw the Gg IKB male group and the female with the newborn has left the building. #hyperoodon #hyperoodonampullatus #northernbottlenosewhale #beakedwhales #ziphiid #whalesofinstagram #encounter #research #conservation #fieldwork #atlantic #azores #picoisland #azoresIslands #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeophotography #natgeowild #nikon #nikonphotography #keepongramping

Yesterday we saw the second calf of the female "Target Scar", which is our FIRST newborn of the 2024 season! Look at the floppy tail and dorsal fin! Super tiny baby!! ☺️ We found the pair close to shore in Ribeiras Bay in the company of the IKB males! This female is often found in male pods. She is also used to boats and yesterday she passed by several times close to our vessel with her neonate. We are wondering who is going to babysit for the small one when the mother needs to go down to forage... Let's see if other females will join this couple and build up a nursery! But how super cute is this smally!!! 😍😍😍 #newborn #baby #calf #mother #targetscar #ikb #pod #nursery #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #research #conservation #fieldwork #population #atlantic #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #natgeophotography #underwater #underwaterphotography #gopro #nikon #keepongramping

Large fields with short-finned pilot whales have been passing by lately off the south coast of Pico. And a few days after new moon we saw 2 neonates! Besides foraging and resting it seems that pilot whales also use the waters off the Azores to give birth. We are waiting for the first Risso’s!! (Perhaps after the next full moon!?) #globicephala #gmac #shortfinned #pilotwhales #cetaceans #marinemammals #blackfish #whalesofinstagram #newborn #calf #baby #research #conservation #marinebiology #behaviour #species #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #ribeirasbay #newmoon #cycles #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #nikon #natgeo #natgeophotography #natgeowild #keepongramping

And so... 13 seasons passed by without seeing them... We were always on the wrong side, or they were passing super far out or we were simply not in the field. Yesterday was different... What a majestic animal.... 🩵🖤🩵 #orca #orcinusorca #killerwhale #blackfish #encounter #female #juvenile #calf #travelling #group #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #ribeirasbay #whalesofinstagram #cetaceans #marinemammals #dolphins #research #conservation #fieldwork #atsea #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeophotography #natgeowild #nikon #keepongramping

The famous Risso's male group IKB was passing close to shore at 30/05, in synchronised trios and pairs. Impressive organisation! #ikb #male #malecluster #synchrony #organization #trio #pair #grampusgriseus #rissosdolphin #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #research #conservation #fieldwork #atsea #atlantic #ocean #azores #pico #picoIsland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeophotography #nikon #nikonphotography #keepongramping

Our first sighting of short-finned pilot whales (crossing the Bay in a large but spread out group) and next the first Risso's dolphin nursery with older calves and very well known females. And passing by in their vicinity we saw the males from "Tomar" in good company of a young female who loves to hang out with them. A succesful test trip with our other boat Moleiro! with @debbyopreis Martijn van Schie @pietervanderharst #pilotwhales #shortfinnedpilotwhale #globicephalamacrorhynchus #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #nursery #females #calves #males #tomar #goodcompany #fieldwork #atsea #research #conservation #science #fortheanimals #dorsal #photoid #whalesofinstagram #cetaceans #marinemammals #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeophotography #keepongramping

First day out with our small vessel "Easy" and watching the Risso's dolphins surfing the waves! 🌊 #easy #vessel #firstday #surfing #wavesurfing #phases #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #cetaceans #marinemammals #dolphins #whalesofinstagram #research #conservation #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeophotography #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #ribeirasbay #fieldwork #atsea #keepongramping

Impressions of the start of our 25th fieldwork season! 🐬🐋 Thanks to Futurismo Pico Azores Adventures for creating the possibility to collect data onboard their vessel during the first week! @futurismoazoresadventures #newseason #25years #start #firstweek #impressions #atlantic #azores #picoisland #ribeirasbay #teamwork #novaatlantisfoundation #keepongramping #research #conservation #noninvasive #observation #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #dolphins #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeophotographer

Happy World Earth Day with some Pc from August 2023! 🩵 #pseudorca #falsekillerwhale #pseudorcacrassidens #blackfish #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #wall #line #synchrony #pod #worldearthday #memory #underwater #underwaterphotography #gopro #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #research #conservation #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pico #fieldwork #keepongramping

URL 👇 https://noticias.up.pt/2024/03/18/ciimar-contribui-para-criacao-de-novas-areas-de-protecao-de-cetaceos/ @uporto @novaatlantisfoundation #notícias #news #environment #marinesciences #ciimar #uicn #imma #investigation #cetaceans #whales #dolphins #species #marinemammals #conservation #protection #inservice #importantareas #collaboration #teamwork #atlantic #ocean #research #keepongramping

Important news! Whereas a big part of our job is collecting data in the field, the ultimate purpose is to publish our findings in peer reviewed scientifc journals. We believe that through science we can enhance knowledge and help to conserve and protect the marine environment and its inhabitants. Therefore today constituted a big milestone, with the announcement that 33 new IMMAs (Important Marine Mammal Areas) have been recognised, and one of them is the NE Atlantic Ocean! In May 2023 we were invited by the NE Atlantic IMMA committee to add data during the proposal evaluation process, and we could use the Risso’s dolphin as a key species to indicate the importance of the area. Based on our previous publications we could deliver “proof” that Risso’s dolphins are resident in the Azores, and that females use the coastal waters for nursing and calving.  Also, we are dealing with an almost closed genetic population structure and Azorean Risso’s dolphins display distinct social behaviour. The IMMA status is an important step towards the conservation and protection of this unique European marine habitat, and our uninterrupted 24 years of fieldwork have made a meaningful contribution! You can take a dive into the e-Atlas by clicking on the IMMA shapes on the map to learn more: marinemammalhabitat.org/imma-eatlas/ Read our news story here: https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/immas-focus-the.../ #IMMA #important #marine #mammal #areas #status #eatlas #milestone #data #contribution #research #conservation #marinemammals #cetaceans #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #population #focus #genetics #protection #atlantic #ocean #azores #pico #picoIsland #ribeirasbay #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #keepongramping

Thank you for your support in 2023! Wishing you all a very happy 2024! 🐬🙃🐋 #happynewyear #novaatlantisfoundation #keepongramping

Today it is official! Our latest paper: "Kinship study reveals stable non-kin-based associations in a medium-sized delphinid", is out! Please send us a message if you cannot download the publication and we will send you the PDF! https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-023-03411-w #paper #publication #kinship #assotiations #delphinid #research #conservation #study #rissosdolphins #grampusgriseus #atlantic #ocean #pico #keepongramping

WOOHOO! Today our manuscript "Kinship study reveals stable non-kin-based associations in a medium-sized delphinid", was accepted for publication in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. This was a very long process, with data having been collected between 2009-2011, intense lab work and the longest peer review process in our career, mainly due to lack of reviewers. Anyways! We can hopefully soon share the content! Risso's Rock! 💙 #data #kinship #alliances #association #stableclusters #socialstructure #marinemammals #cetaceans #rissosdolphin #research #conservation #atlantic #azores #picoisland #ribeirasbay #novaatlantisfoundation #natgeo #natgeophotography #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #publication #acceptance

The Fab4 of Pico jumping in a chorus line! (Actually the Fab IKB.) #nowandthen #fab4 #maleclusters #collaboration #ikb #socialstructure #chorusline #jump #cetaceans #marinemammals #rissosdolphins #grampusgriseus #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #research #conservation #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeophotography #wildlifephotography #keepongramping

Tomorrow we will present a talk at 10:30 Azorean time ( -1 GMT; -2, The Netherlands), during the 4th “Bienal das Baleias” Conference in Lajes do Pico. Our talk will be about why not to swim with wild Risso’s dolphins. We will talk about past research results and present trends observed in our population. The morning and afternoon presentations will be broadcasted by Lajes TV through: https://www.facebook.com/LajesTV https://cm-lajesdopico.pt/.../4-bienal-das-baleias-nas... #conference #talk #presentation #dontswimwithdolphins #tourism #whalewatching #responsibility #impact #population #decline #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #hotspot #pico #picoIsland #ribeirasbay #azores #atlantic #ocean #research #conservation #result #trend #cetaceans #marinemammals #teamwork #keepongramping

Today the brand new book "Sex in cetaceans" was published, including free open access! Chapter 13 is about mating strategies in Risso's dolphins introducing new finding such as female choice and male-calf care! Have a look and discover what a great species they are! https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_13 #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #ageclasses #aggression #sex #alloparentalcare #consortship #femalechoice #mating #strategy #infanticide #polygynandry #scramblecompetition #synchrony #book #publication #figuresample #novaatlantisfoundation #science #conservation #cetaceans #marinemammals #behaviourecology #keepongramping @springernature

False killer whales today mixed with bottlenose and common dolphins together with crazy wind and waves on our possibly last survey for 2023... #species #mix #mixedspecies #falsekillerwhale #blackfish #pseudorcacrassidens #bottlenosedolphin #tursiopstruncatus #commondolphin #delphinusdelphis #whalesofinstagram #wind #wawes🌊 #research #conservation #fieldwork #atsea #lastsurvey #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #nikon #nikonphotography #natgeo #natgeowild #keepongramping #endofseason

When the boys are blowing out a heart... 🤍 😍 #blowout #breathe #blow #heart #cor #heartshape #male #boys #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #research #conservation #fieldwork #atsea #atlantic #ocean #azores #pico #picoIsland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #nikon #nikonphotography #natgeo #natgeowild #natgeophotography #keepongramping

Males going crazy just before having dinner... 🐙🦑 #male #dolphin #activity #jump #crazy #energy #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #cetaceans #marinemammals #research #conservation #fieldwork #atsea #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pico #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #nikon #nikonphotography #natgeo #natgeowild #natgeophotography #wildlife #keepongramping

This season has not been an easy one: many days are passing by without finding our key species, the Risso’s dolphin, despite our intense efforts. But there are also mornings when we see blows and large torpedo shaped bodies that pierce through the swell. On August 6, a large group (75/100) of False killer whales was passing by and at start they were mixed with Pilot whales, some Risso’s dolphins and Bottlenose dolphins. At first, the field was spread-out, and then the species got together for a “social foraging banquet” on Bluefin tuna. The encounter with these magnificent top predators was beautiful and impressive as you can see in this video. https://vimeo.com/853986931 Thanks to Lookout Adrien Laydevant for finetuning our route towards them 😃! #mixedspecies #encounter #falsekillerwhale #pseudorcacrassidens #pilotwhales #globicephala #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #bottlenosedolphin #tursiopstruncatus #cetaceans #toppredators #socializing #foraging #bluefintuna #thunnusthynnus #research #conservation #behaviour #fieldwork #teamwork #atlantic #ocean #azores #pico #gopro #underwater #natgeo #pictureoftheday #keepongramping

Crazy mixed species days, lately! Photo 1: Spotted dolphins (Sf) and pilot whales (Gmac) Photo 2: Risso's (Gg) and bottlenose dolphins (Tt) #mixedspecies #interaction #behaviour #spotteddolphins #stenellafrontalis #pilotwhales #globicephala #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #bottlenosedolphin #tursiopstruncatus #cetaceans #marinemammals #dolphins #whalesofinstagram #encounter #research #conservation #fieldwork #atsea #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #gopro #underwaterphotography #natgeo #keepongramping

On July 18 we had an exceptional visit of 3 Sowerby’s beaked whales, checking us out. Two animals were swimming synchronised. Encounters like these make you realise that we know so little about them and yet they are so interesting and beautiful. 🤩 #mesoplodonbidens #mesoplodon #beakedwhale #encounter #bowriding #synchrony #mystic #secretlife #glimpse #whalesofinstagram #cetaceans #marinemammals #research #conservation #fieldwork #atsea #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #gopro #underwater #natgeo #natgeowild #keepongramping

Since yesterday our “4 Continents Team” is now only covering 3... Audra (USA), our acoustic expert, left us after a hectic but good period. Thank you, Audra, for your passion, humor and hard work! 💙 We collected many hours with the Soundtrap and the hydrophone array system which will hopefully broaden our knowledge about the acoustic world of Risso’s dolphins... At least we will always have the “chatty” dolphins’ whistles and the metronomic sounds of the Spermwhales... Gramping on with Adrienne (Australia) and Jing and Iris from Taiwan! #teamwork #internship #ourinterns #ourteam #novaatlantisfoundation #fieldwork #acousticresearch #acousticexpert #soundtrap #hydrophonesystem #sounds #underwatersounds #whalesounds #spermwhale #physetermacrocephalus #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #whistles #clicks #chat #cetaceans #marinemammals #whalesofinstagram #research #conservation #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #keepongramping

Every year THEY drive us crazy and the spare moments, when they actually show little bits of their hidden lives, are soooo precious. #hyperoodonampullatus #northernbottlenosewhale #cetaceans #marinemammals #encounter #whalesofinstagram #fantasticmoment #whatasighting #spyhop #behaviour #fieldwork #atsea #research #conservation #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #nikon #nikonphotography #natgeo #natgeophotography #natgeowild #wildlife #novaatlantisfoundation #keepongramping

Risso's dolphins' male competition is often manifesting in "headbutting" events, where they can be highly aggressive (open beaks!) and intense...wow... Another reason why not to swim with this species... #contest #competition #aggression #teeth #prodent #malemammals #mamalmalealliances #rissosdolphin #grampusgriseus #socialbehaviour #sociobiology #longtermdata #socialstructure #research #conservation #fieldwork #atlantic #ocean #azores #picoisland #pictureoftheday #photooftheday #natgeo #natgeowild #wildlife #nikon #whalesofinstagram #dontswimwithdolphins #cetaceans #keepongeamping