Two Bryde’s whales were sighted on Saturday, July 26, off the coast of Fonte da Telha beach, Costa da Caparica, in the municipality of Almada.
The images, to which you can access in the gallery above, show one of the whales with what appears to be a calf.
“Newborn Bryde’s whales are about four meters long and weigh around 680 kilograms. The maximum recorded size for this species is 17 meters, with males being slightly smaller than females,” according to Espaço Talassa.
The Azores cetacean observation organization added that “the maximum weight of adults can reach 40 tons” and that “the number of baleen varies between 250-370 on each side, with varying lengths, and they have a grey coloration.” The longevity of these whales remains unknown.
These animals “spend much of their time in tropical waters, which means there is no distinction between reproductive/feeding seasons,” allowing for calves to be born at any time of the year.
It is noteworthy that this species was first observed off the Algarve coast in August 2020, although they are more commonly seen in Madeira and the Azores.
Watch the video.
