IN PURSUIT OF THE WHALE
Every summer the waters around the Azores are visited by a great variety of
whales and dolphins. Until 1984 whaling was a traditional part of Azorean
life – in the 18th century American whaling vessels frequently called here
to pick up crew for their expeditions, and from the 1870s the Azoreans took
up large-scale hunting in their own waters. Flags were waved from clifftop
vigias (lookouts) giving coded directions so that
other villagers would not get to the prize first.
Since whaling was banned in the 1980s, the Azoreans have applied their
knowledge gained from hunting to whale watching and conservation.
Some 20 species of cetaceans can be found in the waters of the Azores. These
warm-blooded animals follow the warm currents of the Gulf Stream to feed in
the region’s abundant, unpolluted waters. Schools of playful and gregarious
dolphins are often seen scything through the waves at incredible speeds, but
the most impressive sights are sperm whales. These large, sociable animals
dive to great depths for giant squid and live in family groups called pods.
Like all whales and dolphins they must come to the surface to breathe and
this is when whale-watching expeditions make their sightings.
