Great sightings! Marine Big 5 daily blog
Written by February 13 2020
Although we have been delayed due to extremely low tide we couldn’t have asked for a better day at sea. The water had a beautiful turquoise colour and the sky was blue. After leaving the harbour in Kleinbaai we were heading straight to the shark cage diving boats where we got to see a few bronze whaler sharks. Thereafter we headed into deeper waters to look for marine life and found some Sooty shearwater and a Giant petrel. On the way back to the coast we passed the seal colony on Geyser Rock and made stop at Dyer Island to see the endangered african penguin. On our last stretch of the route we encountered an Indian Ocean humpback dolphin, always a treat to find them in our waters.
What species did we see today?
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.
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.
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.
