Puerto Madryn is a treasure of fauna, all year round.
From May to December, thousands of visitors come to the Chubut coast to admire the southern right whales, but the natural spectacle in the nape zone ends.
Because with the arrival of spring the Magellan penguins arrive at nearby penguin colonies, such as San Lorenzo, in Península Valdés, or Punta Tombo, about 180 km south of the city.
And summer is also the season for sightings: killer whales, especially in the northern part of the Peninsula;
sea lions and elephant seals... and
dolphins
.
In the waters that surround the protected natural area of Península Valdés, more and more dolphins, of different species, are seen.
For example, Pío's dolphins, popularly known as bottlenose
dolphins
, and Fitz Roy's or
dark dolphins
, which inhabit the waters of the Southern Hemisphere.
A specimen of this last species is the one that recently starred in a
spectacular photo
taken by nature photographer Maxi Jonás, who lives in Puerto Madryn and has extensive experience taking photos of marine fauna.
In the shot, which quickly went viral and already has more than 165 likes on the photographer's Twitter (@maxijonas),
a dark dolphin is seen in full "flight" in front of a boat
with tourists who had gone out to make sightings, just , of the species.
The dolphin seems to be looking at the tourists, but they look away.
Photo: Telam/Maxi Jonas
Curiously, in the shot it can be seen that the dolphin, at the "summit" of its great leap,
seems to be looking at the tourists
, but paradoxically
they did not see it
: as seen in the image, the sailors were all looking at each other side, perhaps waiting for a show like the one that was taking place behind his back.
Undoubtedly, one of the great images of this season on the shores of Chubut.
Summer is the season for watching dark dolphins on the coasts of Madryn and Península Valdés.
Photo: Telam/Maxi Jonas
Dolphin
watching
boom
The dolphin watching tours leave every day from December to March -subject to weather conditions-, although of course the result is never guaranteed.
However, it is very common to see them in the area, which is why dolphin watching has become a "boom" in recent Chubut summers, because dolphins usually swim in groups of up to 200 specimens and do not hide, since they usually
swim jumping and doing aerobatics
when coming up to breathe, jumping several meters over the waters of the Nuevo Gulf.
Between December and April, boats set sail from Puerto Madryn for dusky dolphin sightings.
Photo: Telam
Normally they are chasing schools of small anchovies, which they
attack as a team
, surrounding them to "tighten" the school and reduce its size, until they attack directly.
For these attacks, the dolphins generally form groups of between eight and 15 specimens, which
usually get very close to the boats
at the time of sighting and give rise to one of the most impressive natural spectacles in the gulf.
It is that these mammals, one of the most abundant small cetaceans in the Argentine Sea and especially in Patagonia, is their
high sociability
, so tourists can enjoy an unparalleled experience when making contact with them.
Like the one that Maxi Jonas has just captured on the shores of Puerto Madryn.
look too
Summer 2023: dolphin watching, snorkeling with sea lions and walks among penguins in Puerto Madryn
Summer 2023: the beaches of Patagonia, between cliffs, wild corners and marine fauna
