African Penguin release on sea! Marine Big 5 daily blog
Written by March 3 2020
A wonderful day out on sea for the Dyer Island Cruises team and guests as we experienced some lovely weather and some great sightings. Dream Catcher left the harbour and followed the coastline around until we arrived in the Shallows at our sister company, Marine Dynamics, where we were lucky enough to see one of their shark encounters. This was a female Bronze whaler shark, approximately 2.5m in length, we had a great view from the boat as the shark came to the surface and cruised past the front of the Marine Dynamics shark cage. On the way to the islands we took a closer look at the sea bamboo, Ecklonia maxima, that thrives in this areas and happens to form underwater forests that houses a diverse array of life. The next part of the trip was an absolute treat as the boat moved onto anchor in Huisbaai, infront of Dyer Island, to release a African penguin, Timmy, after treatment at our African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS). The islands themselves proved good for sightings with a number of penguin seen on Dyer Island, Giant petrels bobbing on the waters’ surface and the ever abundant, unmissable Cape Fur seals of Geyser Rock appeared to be taking full advantage of the warm sun as most were up on the island at the time. Before making our way back to land we took a trip into the deeper waters surrounding the bay and headed in the direction of Danger Point in the search for any other wildlife and enjoying the fantastic day that it was.
What species did we see today?
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.
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.
Cape Cormorant Cape Cormorant
One of the most famous species of Cormorant in the Western Cape, the Cape Cormorant is well known for it's beautiful turquoise eye and impressive size.
