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Short-finned pilot whales off the coast of La Gomera, Canary Islands, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Dorsal fins of Short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus, off the coast of La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, from whalewatching boat ‘Tina’.

Pilot whales have been in the news a bit this week, because of the strandings off Tasmanian.

All dolphins are whales – but not all whales are dolphins. And pilot whales are actually very large dolphins, at up to 3.5 – 6.5m long and up to 4 tonnes in weight. They can dive down hundreds of metres, where they catch squid and fish. They’ve very social animals, towards each other that is, but not terribly interactive with humans. So it was a pleasure to hang out beside this pod for a few minutes while they lay on the surface and dallied…

daev

Chief Bottle Washer at Blather

Writer, photographer, environmental campaigner and "known troublemaker" Dave Walsh is the founder of Blather.net, described both as "possibly the most arrogant and depraved website to be found either side of the majestic Shannon River", and "the nicest website circulating in Ireland". Half Irishman, half-bicycle. He lives in southern Irish city of Barcelona.