Short-finned Pilot Whale

Short-finned pilot whales maintain one of the world's largest known resident populations off Tenerife's southwest coast, with studies identifying over 400 individuals that remain in these waters year-round rather than undertaking the seasonal migrations typical of their offshore relatives. They are deep-diving specialist predators of squid, capable of dives exceeding 1,000 metres for over 20 minutes, and the upwelling zone off Palm Mar provides access to the deep mesopelagic squid aggregations they depend on without requiring long offshore transits. In-water encounters at Palm Mar are uncommon but documented — pilot whales occasionally enter the bay to interact with small boats or rest at the surface, and divers entering the water during these approaches can experience one of the most extraordinary cetacean encounters available anywhere in the Atlantic.