A diverse day, 19 August 2019
Written by August 21 2019
Encounters with a variety of ocean wildlife
Today we had a variety of different types of marine encounters. Each of our three tours throughout the day were quite different. Today’s whale sightings started off with a visit to the area of Pearly Beach. We had several right whales around, spread out across a fairly large area. It took a bit of patience and trying with different individuals, but in the end there was one southern right whale that we managed to see quite well. For the rest of the day we had humpback whale around to see. They were not always easy to watch, but on the second tour our guests were treated to see one humpback whale throwing its tail into the air. As for other species, the wind today made for some fantastic albatross sightings on all our trips, as these gliding specialists use the wind currents to soar over the waves. We also encountered our endangered African penguins and Cape fur seals throughout the day. On two of our tours we managed to see sharks (a great white shark on the second tour and a bronze whaler shark on the third) and finally on the third trip we picked up some floating kelp which was harbouring some small crabs that the children on board enjoyed releasing back into the ocean.
Bank cormorants on Geyser rock
Sub Antarctic skua
Southern right whale surfacing
Putting the crabs back in the ocean
Our guide Jax showing some small crabs
Marine Dynamics boat
Late afternoon light
Collecting rubbish from the Ocean
Cape fur seals on the beach of Geyser rock
Cape fur seals – very good rock climbers
Bronze whaler shark with Marine Dynamics
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.
Southern Right Whale Southern Right Whale
Southern right whales attract thousands of visitors every year to experience these gentle giants off the South African coast.
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.
Bank Cormorant Bank Cormorant
Often enjoying a broad diet including klipfish, rock lobster and more, the increasing rarety of the Bank Cormorant makes every moment we see them even more special.
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.
