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Surface synchrony of two Sowerby's beaked whales - A.kok

Sowerby Beaked Whale tagged for the first time

Our team efforts paid off: today we deployed the first tag on a Sowerby's beaked whale! With a very calm sea and an overcast sky, our working conditions were very good, if not perfect. Groups of dolphins were plentiful this morning, and soon  the first group of Sowerby's beaked whales was seen surfacing in the distance.

The sea-team was given directions heading towards the sighting location. Just as both teams were ready and in position, the heavens opened, leaving the land-team soaked and temporally blindfolded, as heavy rain blocked the view towards the area where both the sea-team and Sowerby beaked whales were seen last. The land-team could glimpse through the clouds, from time to time to see the sea-team slowly manoeuvring the boat, with beaked whales close by. Suddenly, we receive the radio message that the first ever tag has been deployed on a Sowerby’s beaked whale. What a great success after having started to work with this new species only a few days ago. Unluckily, the tag was found floating at the surface soon after it was deployed. Despite the short deployment, we celebrated our first ever tag success at night.

Sowerby’s beaked whales are a relatively widely distributed beaked whale species, occurring throughout the Atlantic Ocean. Despite this distribution, little is known about the species. Their elusive behaviour, deep water distribution and low density complicates research efforts. The species inhabits the deep waters (>1000 m) that surround the islands of the Acores, situated on the mid-Atlantic ridge. The tagging of the Sowerby beaked whale is part of the Kelp Marine Research Azores-Baseline project that focuses on the natural behaviour of deep diving cetaceans. For more information please visit the Research page or contact us via flessenpost.


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