Risso's dolphin

Photo: Alessandra Boccabianca · © all rights reserved

Risso's dolphins are deep-water specialists that feed almost exclusively on squid and cuttlefish in deep oceanic channels — exactly the habitat the Faial-Pico corridor provides. They are the most heavily scarred cetacean species, with older individuals almost entirely white from the accumulated marks of inter-individual rake wounds and squid sucker scars. The Azores supports one of Europe's most accessible populations, with pods regularly encountered at the surface resting and socialising in the mornings.