Trip Report

Madeira Whale Watching (29 October to 10 November 2024)

Did you know, Madeira is one of the best places in Europe to see whales and dolphins?

Madeira is now a Whale Heritage Area. It is possible to see 27 cetacean species in the waters of the archipelego of Madeira. Some species are commonly sighted, other species are sighted regularly, then there are species sighted occasionally and finally rare sightings.

Madeira cetacean species:

No.	Sighting frequency	English name	Species	Family
1	Common	Bottlenose Dolphin	Tursiops Truncatus	Delphinidae
2	Common	Atlantic Spotted Dolphin	Stenella Frontalis	Delphinidae
3	Common	Short-beaked Common Dolphin	Delphinus Delphis	Delphinidae
4	Common	Short-finned Pilot Whale	Globicephala Macrorhychus	Delphinidae
5	Regular	Sperm Whale	Physeter Macrocephalus	Physeteridae
6	Regular	Bryde's Whale	Balaenoptera Edeni	Balaenopteridae
7	Regular	Striped Dolphin	Stenella Coeruleoalba	Delphinidae
8	Regular	Fin Whale	Balaenoptera Physalus	Balaenopteridae
9	Regular	Blainville's Beaked Whale	Mesoplodon Densirostris	Ziphiidae
10	Occasional	Cuvier's Beaked Whale	Ziphius Cavirostris	Ziphiidae
11	Occasional	Risso's Dolphin	Grampus Griseus	Delphinidae
12	Occasional	Rough-toothed Dolphin	Steno Bredanensis	Delphinidae
13	Occasional	False Killer Whale	Pseudorca Crassidens	Delphinidae
14	Occasional	Sei Whale	Balaenoptera Borealis	Balaenopteridae
15	Occasional	Killer Whale	Orcinus Orca	Delphinidae
16	Occasional	Pygmy Sperm Whale	Kogia Breviceps	Kogiidae
17	Occasional	Dwarf Sperm Whale	Kogia Sima	Kogiidae
18	Rare	Sowerby's Beaked Whale	Mesoplodon Bidens	Ziphiidae
19	Rare	Gervais' Beaked Whale	Mesoplodon Europaeus	Ziphiidae
20	Rare	Blue Whale	Balaenoptera Musculus	Balaenopteridae
21	Rare	Humpback Whale	Megaptera Novaeangliae	Balaenopteridae
22	Rare	Minke Whale	Balaenoptera Acutorostrata	Balaenopteridae
23	Rare	Northern Bottlenose Whale	Hyperoodon Ampullatus	Ziphiidae
24	Rare	Fraser's Dolphin	Lagenodelphis Hosei	Delphinidae
25	Rare	Melon-headed Whale	Pepanocephala Electra	Delphinidae
26	Rare	Pygmy Killer Whale	Feresa Attenuata	Delphinidae
27 *	Rare	Pantropical Spotted Dolphin	Stenella Attenuata	Delphinidae

Colour Key: I have seen in Madeira, I have not seen in Madeira.

* Pantropical Spotted Dolphins seen for the first time in August 2024.

I have been fortunate to see three rare species in Madeira: Blue Whale, Humpback Whale and Fraser's Dolphins and two occasional species: Sei Whale and False Killer Whales. In total, I have seen 14 cetacean species in Madeira waters.

During this trip, from 29 October to 10 November, 2024, I have seen four cetacean species, all encountered previously, and one species of marine mammal not seen previously, the Mediterranean Monk Seal.

If you want to see whales and dolphins in Madeira, how to you go about it?

1) Book a package holiday to Funchal, Madeira. I recommend using Jet2 which no longer promotes aquariums with captive dolphins.

2) Book dolphin and whale watching trips with Magic Dolphin, Madeira's premier dolphin and whale watching company. Magic Dolphin is an environmentally-friendly company with a fantastic crew and on-board marine biologists.

To see dolphins and whales with Magic Dolphin you have a choice of three boats.

1) Magic Dolphin Eco catamaran

2) Magic Dolphin Sea Safaris

3) Magic Dolphin Celebrity catamaran

Please don't expect to see all 27 cetacean species on a single trip. Each trip is different and you never know what you will see. Please also bear in mind that while some species can be seen all year round, other species are transient appearing at different times of the year. If you book a number of trips with Magic Dolphin, you may be fortunate to see different cetacean species on each trip. You may also wish to sample all three boats - Eco, Sea Safaris and Celebrity.

During the past two weeks, I have seen cetaceans on 91% of trips with Magic Dolphin. If you book a trip and don't see any dolphins or whales, you get your next trip for only 10 Euros.

When booking with Magic Dolphin, please mention that you heard about Magic Dolphin via Andy Lawson at Mountains of Scotland.

A selection of photographs follow, all taken during the past two weeks with Magic Dolphin.

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Sperm Whale (Physeter Macrocephalus)
Family: Physeteridae
Length: 11 - 20m
Weight: 35,000 to 60,000kg
Lifespan: 60-70 years
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 5

Sperm Whale blow:

Two Sperm Whales:

Sperm Whales going for a deep dive:

Sperm Whale deep dive:

Sperm Whale head and tail:

Sperm Whale baby spyhopping:

Sperm Whale baby tail-slap:

Sperm Whale deep dive:

Sperm Whale powering through the waves:

Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala Macrorhynchus)
Family: Delphinidae
Length: 3.5 - 7.0m
Weight: 1,000 to 3,000kg
Lifespan: 45 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: almost daily

Baby short-finned Pilot Whale still showing foetal fold lines:

Short-finned Pilot Whales:

Short-finned Pilot Whale:

Short-finned Pilot Whales:

Short-finned Pilot Whale:

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella Frontalis)
Family: Delphinidae
Length: 1.5 - 2.3m
Weight: 100 to 150kg
Lifespan: unknown
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 2

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin:

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin:

Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus)
Family: Delphinidae
Length: 1.8 - 3.9m
Weight: 300 to 650kg
Lifespan: 20 to 50 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: almost daily

Bottlenose Dolphins:

Bottlenose Dolphin:

Bottlenose Dolphin fluke:

Bottlenose Dolphins:

Bottlenose Dolphin:

Other Marine Mammals encountered:

Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus)
Family: Phocidae
Length: average 2.4m
Weight: average 300 - 320kg
Lifespan: up to 45 years
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 2

The Mediterranean Monk Seal is the rarest species of seal in the world.

Mediterranean Monk Seal: