Dolphins! Marine Big 5 Daily Blog
Written by March 28 2022
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 28 March 2022:
This morning we used the weather gap to head out to sea as over the next few days some strong winds and big swells are predicted. Along the coast in shallow waters, we spotted the endangered humpback dolphin. We had two individuals moving very close to the coast and a third one just further along that approached our vessel several times so we could get some great looks at it. In Shark Alley, we watched the Cape fur seals, a lot of seal pups were travelling alongside our vessel and curiously sticking their head out of the water. At Dyer Island, we also saw some of the endangered African penguins making their way over the rock and a few more just hiding from the wind. On the way back to Kleinbaai we stopped at one of the shark cage diving boats and were happy to have had a look at a bronze whaler shark.
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What species did we see today?
Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin
Humpback dolphins are an endangered species, with small populations living very close to shore, typically in water less than 25m deep and an average home range of 120km. Their proximity to land makes these animals particularly vulnerable to human influence.
African Penguin African Penguin
As one of only 17 penguin species left in the world (and the only one on the african continent), the african penguin often breed in offshore colonies, such as Dyer Island.
Bronze Whaler Shark Bronze Whaler Shark
The Bronze whaler (also known as Copper sharks) here in Kleinbaai are very curious and interactive. These sharks eat mostly fish, with sardines being one of their favourites.
Cape fur seal Cape fur seal
With a local population of 60,000, it's no wonder our guests capture so many photographs of these wonderfully playful marine mammals.