I wanted to make this post to explain about the migration of Baleen whales. There are 5 different species of Baleen whales that come through Azores (The Blue Whale, Minke Whale, Fin Whale, Humpback Whale and Sei Whale).
But what does this actually mean, you may ask?
Baleen whales are a particular type of whale that have filtering like structure inside their mouths, this allows them to be “filter feeders” which basically means that in order to feed they swallow big amounts of water in order to filter small fish and very important crustacean commonly known as “Krill”.
But these large animals do not reside in Azores they partake in large migrations. They migrate to feeding or breeding grounds when the winter ends in the Northern hemisphere. So now they are passing through here. Azores is like a gas station for these baleen whales. These amazing animals are moving throughout oceans, literally!!!!!
So here in Terra Azul we are always excited to know that these animals are crossing our waters, making a sighting something special.
I always like to end my posts by reminding everyone that there is nothing more beautiful than observing animals in wildlife and that here in Azores, we are very lucky to see animals in their natural environment but of course that also means being at the right place at the right time when a Baleen Whale passes through. Spring is here and it’s the season were sightings become recurrent yet not on every single tour.
I encourage all our amazing cetacean aficionados to always look for a whale, no matter if it’s in Azores or any other special place in the world where they might occur. But always understanding the hard journey these amazing animals have ahead and that conscious tourism and whale watching intake understanding whale migrations.