A half brindle Southern right whale, 23 September 2019
Written by September 23 2019
Today was a day of nice weather and fantastic sightings to match. It was a full day with 4 trips, and on each one we had very nice sightings of Southern right whales, African penguins, Cape fur seals and Bronze whaler sharks. The whales were plentiful, with at least 10 Southern right whales just a few minutes boat ride out of our harbour in Kleinbaai. Throughout the day we went around different individuals, mostly mother and juvenile pairs, but also some single adults including a pair that may have been displaying some courtship behaviour. We also got to see some other interesting behaviours from the whales today, including a lot of rolling around and body contact, tail slapping and even some breaching (jumping out of the water). Most of these displays were coming from an unusually coloured juvenile whale that was a combination of black and white. It wasn’t quite a brindle whale (completely white), nor was it the usual black colouration for Southern right whales. So we referred to this unusual whale as a half brindle. It was really nice to see this particular whales several times throughout the day. Maybe this little one will still be around tomorrow for us to see again.
Photos from today
Southern right whale close to Kleinbaai harbour
Southern right v-shaped whale blow
Southern right whale tail at the surface
Light coloured Southern right whale tail
A half brindle Southern right whale
Southern right whale juvenile with many white marks
A half brindle Southern right whale
A half brindle Southern right whale
A half brindle Southern right whale rolling over its mother
Southern right whale blow
Cape fur seals
Bronze whaler shark
African penguins
White-breasted cormorant
Bank cormorants and Cape fur seals
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.
Great white sharks Great white sharks
Gracious, beautiful, misunderstood - three words used by guests of Dyer Island Cruises after witnessing South Africa's most infamous marine species: The Great White Shark.
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.
White-breasted Cormorant White-breasted Cormorant
White-breasted Cormorant is the largest African cormorant and they have an iconic white chest, it is a favourite for many of our repeat visitors, and professional wildlife photographers.
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.
