At Sea, Indian Ocean
After leaving the Seychelles behind us we headed further south, bound for pastures new. Along the way there is much to do, whether caching up on journals, editing images, preparing for the next destination or keeping a watch on deck for passers by. The latter vigil may be rewarded by an encounter with anything from flying fish to seabirds to marine mammals and the beauty of this exercise is that it is never possible to predict what will happen next. It might be a red-footed booby chasing a flying fish flushed by the passage of the vessel or a group of dolphins.
It is always a pleasure to be on board a vessel that will brake for marine mammals and this morning was no exception as the National Geographic Explorer altered course to investigate a group of distant splashes.
After a careful approach we were fortunate to get close to a small group of about a dozen Risso’s dolphins. Dolphins are well known for their playful tendencies and exuberant nature but there is always an exception to any rule and Risso’s dolphins are perhaps best described as shy. It was only with some patience that we were able to obtain some good views of these animals and appreciate some of their characteristic features such as the heavy scarring borne by older animals.
We continued on our way towards Geysir Reef, fortunate to have had an encounter with this relatively little known species of dolphin.
After leaving the Seychelles behind us we headed further south, bound for pastures new. Along the way there is much to do, whether caching up on journals, editing images, preparing for the next destination or keeping a watch on deck for passers by. The latter vigil may be rewarded by an encounter with anything from flying fish to seabirds to marine mammals and the beauty of this exercise is that it is never possible to predict what will happen next. It might be a red-footed booby chasing a flying fish flushed by the passage of the vessel or a group of dolphins.
It is always a pleasure to be on board a vessel that will brake for marine mammals and this morning was no exception as the National Geographic Explorer altered course to investigate a group of distant splashes.
After a careful approach we were fortunate to get close to a small group of about a dozen Risso’s dolphins. Dolphins are well known for their playful tendencies and exuberant nature but there is always an exception to any rule and Risso’s dolphins are perhaps best described as shy. It was only with some patience that we were able to obtain some good views of these animals and appreciate some of their characteristic features such as the heavy scarring borne by older animals.
We continued on our way towards Geysir Reef, fortunate to have had an encounter with this relatively little known species of dolphin.
