A Marine Big 5 day, 04 September 2019
Today we encountered the Marine Big 5!
Written by September 4 2019
We had a fantastic Marine Big 5 trip in the Dyer Island ecosystem today. The conditions were great for spotting wildlife, and it didn’t take us long after launching to find our first species. A group of bottlenose dolphins was close to land, just inshore from Dyer Island. It was a group of about 20 individuals, including at least 3 calves that we could count. They were travelling together in a tight group and were a real treat to see, especially because we hadn’t seen this species for several weeks. Our next Marine Big 5 member was the Southern right whale, just a bit offshore from Pearly beach. We encountered two individuals that were calmly laying at the surface and rolling around in the swell. Towards the end of this whale encounter we were even lucky that the whales decided to approach us do a bit of people watching. Next we headed towards the area of Dyer Island where we encountered Cape fur seals on Geyser rock, and on the other side of shark alley we saw some African penguins huddled together on Dyer Island. Finally, we went inshore towards the shallows where our sister company’s shark cage diving boat was operating. Here we were lucky to see four bronze whaler sharks, and some of us even got a glimpse of the shadow of a great white shark gliding past our boat.
Photos from the tour
Watching bottlenose dolphins
Watching bottlenose dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins – mother and calf
Two Southern right whales
Southern right whale surfacing on top of a wave
A curious Southern right whale approaching
Southern right whale head
Cape fur seals and Bank cormorants
A big male Cape fur seal in the middle of the colony
African penguins on Dyer Island
Bronze whaler sharks with Slashfin
Arriving back into Kleinbaai harbour
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.
Bottlenose Dolphin Bottlenose Dolphin
At present there are two recognized species of bottlenose dolphin, and in some cases, both species can be found in the same area. The two species are the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus). In addition, there is a great deal of variation in colouration, diet and behaviour. The difference between the common bottlenose and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin are subtle, but the common bottlenose dolphin generally larger and more robust with a slight darker colouration.
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.
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.
