5/5! Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 19 April
Written by April 19 2023

Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 19 April 2023:
Today we began our trip by searching the shallow, coastal waters where we were lucky to encounter a pod of the endangered Indian Ocean Humpback dolphins! These animals calmly cruised alongside our vessel, giving us some great looks. Next, we made a stop by our shark cage diving vessel, Slashfin. Here we witnessed numerous Bronze Whaler sharks around us! Over in the world-famous Shark Alley, the 60,000-strong Cape Fur seal colony was as playful as ever and put on quite a show for our guests. We then got closer to Dyer Island where we were fortunate enough to spot some of the endangered African Penguins on land! Out in deeper waters, we were pleasantly surprised by a Byrde’s whale which surfaced a few times by our vessel before taking a long dive. While watching this whale a raft of African Penguins also made an appearance! All in all a fantastic day out at sea, a very big thank you to everyone who joined us today!
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What species did we see today?
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.
Brydes Whale Brydes Whale
The mysterious Bryde's whales visit the Dyer Island area throughout the year, with most sightings occurring during summer into winter.
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.
Cape Gannet Cape Gannet
Well documented for their aireal displays, experiences with with the famous Cape Gannet are always breath taking, and hold a special place in every photographers portfolio.
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.
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.