Many species on our Marine Big 5 tours, 10 September 2019
Today we had amazing sightings and some interesting animal interactions...
Written by September 10 2019

It’s been another fantastic day out on the water with the Marine Big 5 in the Dyer Island ecosystem. We have encountered a huge array of species on our 3 trips throughout the day and we also witnessed some interesting behaviours and interactions between different species. For example, on our first tour we encountered two Southern right whales that were accompanied by a Cape fur seal. The seal was constantly swimming around the whales, and this made them roll around and become quite active. It was difficult to know if the whales were playing around with the seal or if they were bothered by it. On our second trip we encountered several Cape fur seals together with a large pod of at least 50 common dolphins. As the dolphins were travelling we could see at least 3 seals leaping along with them, as if they wanted to be dolphins too. At the end of the encounter we could even see both the dolphins and the seals feeding on a school of fish. The final interesting interaction we observed today was a Southern giant petrel that was being bothered by 3 Bronze whaler sharks by our sister company’s shark cage diving boat. The petrel was sitting on the water’s surface and the sharks kept nipping at its legs and even using their tails to try to slap the bird. Each encounter today was unique and interesting, such as the three mother and juvenile pairs that we encountered on the second and third trip today, the mother and calf Indian Ocean humpback dolphins on the first trip, a sunfish and stingray on trip one and the Cape fur seals and African penguins on all trips. Every tour is unique and its always an adventure for the passengers and crew alike.
Photos from today

Southern right whale head

Southern right whale flippers and a Cape fur seal in the foreground

Cape fur seal (left) and Southern right whale (right)

Juvenile Southern right whale breathing

Enjoying the front of the boat

Cape fur seals on Geyser rock

Watching Cape fur seals

Playful Cape fur seals, one the fortunate survivar of an accident

Our volunteer Gaelle collecting sightings data

Dyer Island

African penguins on Dyer Island

Common dolphins

Juvenile common dolphin coming up next to its mother

A common dolphin clear water

A common dolphin in a beautiful calm ocean

A common dolphin and a Cape fur seal in the foreground

Southern right whales close to Kleinbaai

A bronze whaler shark going after a Southern giant petrel

Bronze whaler sharks and a Southern giant petrel
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.
Common Dolphin Common Dolphin
With an 'hourgalss' patch on either side and aerial activity the common dolphin is an agile and majestic species, that may easily reach a speed of 40km/h.
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.
Great white sharks Great white sharks
Gracious, beautiful, misunderstood - three words used by guests of Dyer Island Cruises after witnessing South Africa's most infamous marine species: The Great White Shark.
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.