Magnificent Breaching Humpback Whales And The Marine Big 5, 15 May 2019
We could not have asked for a better start to Whale Season 2019....
Written by Jax Bath, May 15 2019
Today's Whale Tale.
Wow, wow, wow, what a fantastic tour. We hit the jackpot with our animals today, with magical sightings of every member of the Marine Big 5. Our tour started with our usual cruise along the shoreline, with us spotting hundreds of Night Light Jellyfish along the way. These pink jellies could be seen all along the shallows, which we travelled until we spotted an Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin.
This dolphins name is Calypso, and we’ve had him in and out the bay for the last couple of weeks. Today’s sighting was just a bit different, when Calypso decided to do a bit of surfing. We watched as this lone ranger caught the wave, enjoying the sight of it before taking a stop at our sister company.
Here, we spent some time watching as the curious Bronze Whalers of the bay. these sharks surfaced again and again, allowing for some great photographic opportunities for us as the divers were given an experience sure to last a lifetime.
We then made our way over to our Island systems where we went in just a bit closer to see if we could spot some African Penguins. At around this time, Kira began to see splashing in the deep sea. Whilst the rest of us were trying to see these small, flightless birds, Kira kept his eagle eyes on the ocean. Thousands of hours at sea have trained his eyes not to lie, and sure enough, he spotted the spout of a whale.
Following his instructions, we set our course for the direction of Quoin Point, and not long after this, were rewarded with the sight of 50 tons of pure magic leaping out the ocean. To our absolute elation, Kira had spotted breaching Humpback Whales. This is the very beginning of our season and we could not have been more thankful for the incredible sight that was these whales breaching repeatedly for the next 20 minutes. As per one our clients “I don’t have the words for that…it just needs to be seen!!!”, so we’ll let the photos below do most of the talking. After this once in a lifetime experience, we topped off our tour with some quality time with our Cape Fur Seal Colony.
Our Best SnapShots For The Day.
A montage of breaches.
Whales can breach for a variety of reasons, such as communication, fun and parasite removal.
We were so lucky to find 2 Humpback Whales just behind Dyer Island.
One more look at this breach.
We were on Whale Whisperer today and with the boat sitting right on the water, we were really able to get an idea of how large these gentle giants are.
This whale did a couple of half breaches too.
it looks like a spyhop, but this whale was actually keeping us entertained.
we tracked these whales for about 20 minutes, with them breaching throughout.
We got some close breaches too.
can you see the white from the belly?
I adore the way the water falls off the bodies of these animals.
just another angle from a spectacular sighting.
A Bronze Whaler Shark giving the divera a great pass over in The Shallows.
I love the way this shark has parted the water, almost framing its dorsal fin.
Breaching over the swell.
Can you see the barnacles on the whales chin, the barnacles on the whales can weigh hundreds of kilograms.
Whilst watching these whales, we also had a beautiful Shy Albatross spend some time around the boat. I often find that when we spot Humpback Whales, we spot Albatross too.
A curious pinniped.
Seals enjoying the sun.
Enjoying a lovely nap.
Calypso the Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin.
A juvenile Cape Gannet in The Shallows. These birds practice their diving by the shark cage diving boats.
Some African Penguins enjoying a rest on Dyer Island.
The Skyline of our Bird Paradise.
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.
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.
