Bottlenose Dolphin

Photo: Antti Henttonen · CC BY-NC

A resident pod of bottlenose dolphins uses the Palm Mar bay as a regular resting and socialising area, distinct from the offshore pilot whale population and from the common dolphin groups that pass through Tenerife's waters on feeding transits. They have been observed bow-riding local dive boats and occasionally entering the dive site area itself, though interactions with divers are at the dolphins' own initiative and non-guaranteed. As apex predators of coastal fish and cephalopods, resident bottlenose dolphins structure the mid-water fish community around Palm Mar through predation pressure, and their predictable presence in the bay has made the site one of Tenerife's most compelling for divers who value the possibility of cetacean interaction alongside conventional reef diving.