Azores Whale Heritage Area

In the Azores, 28 different species of cetaceans have been reported, which is roughly one- third of all the cetacean species in the world. This species’ richness is among the highest in the Atlantic and even on the planet.

Some of these species are sighted year-round, including sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and Risso’s dolphins. Some others are present in the archipelago only seasonally, like Atlantic spotted dolphins, or just passing by along the islands during their migrations, like the big baleen whales such as the incredible blue whale, sei whale, and fin whale.

Current threats to primary cetacean habitat and the cetaceans are climate change; underwater anthropogenic noise from tourist activities, cargo ship traffic and navy activities; local and international fisheries in Azorean waters (overfishing), which can also lead to bycatch in fishing nets and driftnets causing entanglement; disturbance caused by tourist activities during the high season, which largely overlaps with the calving and nursing season of some cetacean species; and plastic pollution.

• Sperm whales of the Azores have been found to share the same coda types, i.e., a pattern of clicks that conform to a stable song used among members of the same community (called clan).
• Sei whales do not actively dive like other whales, they simply let themselves sink; however they are one of the fastest species of whales, reaching speeds up to 30 miles an hour.
• Sperm whales feed on giant octopuses and catch them by paralysing them with their sonar.
• Blue whales are the largest animal that has ever lived on the planet, but their main food source is one of the smallest types of animals. They also have the loudest call of any creature on the planet.
• The colour of Risso’s dolphins changes over time, starting out as almost gray brown and slowly turning white due to toothmarks inflicted during social interactions (although Risso’s dolphins do not have teeth in their upper jaws).