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Dolphins surfacing in the blue ocean water.
Dolphin surfacing in a calm blue ocean, with water glistening on its back.
Fin of a whale surfacing in the ocean with rippling blue water.
A dolphin fin and back emerging from the ocean.

Sowerby Beaked Whale

General Information
Life Span
Unknown
Occurrence in Faro
occasional
Pod Composition
8-10
Max Speed
29 km/h
Max Size
5.5 m
Sightings
Very Rare
Diet
mainly squid but takes small fish
Dive
1.500m, 28min
Dolphin surfacing in a calm blue ocean, with water glistening on its back.
Fin of a whale surfacing in the ocean with rippling blue water.
A dolphin fin and back emerging from the ocean.
Whale surfacing in the ocean, with water glistening on its back.

SOWERBY BEAKED WHALE

Mesoplodon bidens

The Sowerby’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens) is an elusive species that lives in deep, temperate waters of the North Atlantic. It is rarely seen alive and is mostly known from stranded animals, though there are occasional records along the Portuguese coast. This whale has a slender body and a long, narrow beak, and adult males have a pair of small, forward-pointing teeth halfway along the lower jaw, from which the species name bidens derives.”. It feeds mostly on deep-sea squid and fish and can dive to incredible depths, sometimes over 1,000 metres. These whales usually travel in small groups and are considered shy and elusive, so encounters are brief and uncommon. In Portuguese waters, live sightings are extremely rare. In Faro, our team recorded the only confirmed observation to date.

View Other Odontoceti