Giant petrels everywhere! Marine Big 5 daily blog
Written by February 17 2020

On our usual rout along the shallow waters close to shore we haven been once again very lucky to find an Indian Ocean humpback dolphin. Although it was just one adult, we spotted it was a great sighting as the dolphin decided to approach our vessel a little closer. After some great looks at the dolphin we moved on to the shark cage diving vessels where we saw a bronze whaler shark passing und the boat. On the way to Dyer Island we made two stops to view African penguins both sightings were an adult and a juvenile, it’s always great to see them out at sea! Today Geyser Rock was a lot more packed with Cape fur seals than the last few days and we counted 18 Giant petrels in Shark Alley resting on the surface.
What species did we see today?
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.
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.
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.
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.