A thrilling Thursday on sea! Marine Big 5 daily blog
Written by August 27 2020
A stunning day as our vessel, Whale Whisperer took the the water with crew and a family of five visiting from Johannesburg.
We made our way into the shallow section of the bay hugging the coastline with our eyes on the look out for any dolphins of which we spotted right at the last moment as we were preparing to move out of the far side of the bay. These were two Indian ocean humpback dolphins, porpoising through the water with a bit of fluke slapping happening here and there.
Moving on from the Humpback dolphin pair we set our focus on another type of cetacean – albit a larger one, with hopes that we would encounter a whale in the deeper waters and with a bit of distance and patience involved and a Subantarctic skua joining us we hit the jackpot as six adult Southern Right whales came into view. We enjoyed watching these gentle giants as they went about their business, appearing to also be enjoying the pleasant weather.
Before making our way back to the harbour we made our way past the islands, watching the ever abundant Cape Fur seals of Geyser Rock and we were lucky to also encounter a small raft of African penguins in the waters surrounding Dyer Island.
Four of the five Marine Big 5 species seen today making for a five star day on sea.
What species did we see today?
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.
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.
