Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 02 February
Written by February 2 2025
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 02 February 2025:
Today’s tour started by heading along the coast toward Dange Point and into the deeper waters, where we spotted a Bryde’s whale. After we moved on, we approached the Cape fur seal colony on Geyser Rock and saw plenty of them. Once closer to Dyer Island, we saw a variety of seabirds, including the critically endangered African Penguin. Back along the coast we stopped to see the sharks at one of the shark cage diving boats and found some endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins close to Uilenkraalsmond.
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What species did we see today?
Brydes Whale Brydes Whale
The mysterious Bryde's whales visit the Dyer Island area throughout the year, with most sightings occurring during summer into winter.
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.
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.
Giant Petrel Giant Petrel
Around the Greater Dyer Island area we encounter both species of Giant Petrel, the Southern Giant Petrel and Northern Giant Petrel.
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.
