After five seasons of research as Whale Watch Azores we really thoug we had pretty much reached the limit of different species seen in the Azores. During the summer of 1996 we had added humpback whale, minke whale, Pseudorca, True's beaked whale and pygmy sperm whale to our sightings list, bringing the total up to 19 species.
Blues are the biggest of all whales and are in fact the largest creature ever to have lived.
During one of the encounters the animal surfaced very close to our yacht, giving us a brilliant view as it exhaled and submerged. Even from 100 m away, it is extremely loud and long. During the two encounters we took photo identification pictures and have discovered that the two encounters we had were with different individuals, meaning that it is likely the animals were using the Azores as a stop off point, during their migrations. We will endeavour to find out if there are any researchers round the Atlantic who may already have identified these particular animals and let you know if the have been seen elsewhere. In January 1998 our on board naturalist Lisa Steiner is presenting her work to the Marine Mammal Society and European Cetacean Society conference in Monaco .