Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 02 January
Written by January 2 2023
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 02 January 2023:
Today marked our first trips of the new year with a mix of sightings for the day. All three of our trips followed a similar path that included a cruise through the coast before heading by the shark cage diving vessels and then out to the Island system. On the first and third trip were lucky to encounter the Endangered Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphins along the coast with one individual seen on the first trip and three seen on the third trip. The second trip had a beautiful sighting of an Endangered African penguin in the water along with a sighting of a Bronze whaler shark.
Trip 1
Trip 2
Trip 3
Tripadvisor – https://bit.ly/2YZ0jDR
Google – https://g.page/r/Caej8uYZYnR8EBE/review
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WhaleWatchSA
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 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.