Azores Experiences - Whale Watching & Jeep Tours

What is a baleen whale and what is a toothed whale? What do they have in common? What are the differences between them? The group of cetaceans is composed of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Dolphins and porpoises have teeth, but whales can have teeth or baleen plates depending on the species. Sometimes this creates confusion among people. In this post, we will try to explain the differences between baleen and toothed whales, what do they have in common, their origin, their phylogeny and their evolution.  Phylogeny of Cetaceans  Cetaceans, from the Ancient Greek huge fish ( ketos ), are the widest living group of aquatic mammals, they inhabit every ocean basin and some river systems. Their morphology and size are diverse, ranging in adult length from the Vaquita ( Phocoena sinus ) which is 1.45m to the Blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ) which grows up to 33m.  They belong to the order of Cetartiodactyla, an order that gathers the old orders of cetacean...

It was one of those May afternoons, grey, misty, somewhat breezy. It had been raining and the hole town of Horta was wet. Not really in the mood for a day at the sea, but it was not a great day weather wise. We had a few returning guests –Sally and Paul, who are friends–   supposed to stay for 12 days and take two trips per day. Yes, 2 trips per day! They wanted to give it a try. Together with some other participants, including Jaime from Spain –or the “Crazy Spaniard”, as we named him…– with 6 passengers on board. Things looked promising! The lookout gave us the information we were expecting, Sperm whales spotted, south of Pico island, not far from the coast. Off we went. Usual logistics, experienced customers, me as the Skipper, Marc and Nacho as guides and photographers. After some time, narrowing the Sperm whales position with the very useful hydrophone, a big male surfaced. Full speed, approach, slow down… Creep up behind the giant, no reaction. “Cool!”, we all thoug...