Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 19 April
Written by April 19 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 19 April 2024:
Welcoming our guests on our whale-watching boat Whale Whisperer we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind and headed towards Uilenkraal, the natural estuary of the area. Cruising down the coastline we were on the lookout for any Marine wildlife. Close to the estuary we encountered a Cape fur seal feeding. Shortly after we were lucky enough to have spotted a small pod of the endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins! After spending some time with them we decided to let them be and continued forward. Passing an area called the Shallows we stopped by Marine Dynamics Shark cage diving vessel Slahsfin where we got a glimpse of an incredible Sevengill shark! Heading further into deeper waters we encountered several pelagic birds along the way. We made our way over to the island system consisting of Geyser Rock and Dyer Island. Stopping by the home of the endangered African Penguins, Dyer Island we got a few of them sitting near the water. Heading over to Geyser Rock we were passing the Cape fur seal colony several times before making our way once again into deeper waters. Out in the open, we were lucky to have encountered rafts of Penguins close to the boat which allowed us some close-up looks.
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What species did we see today?
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.
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.
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.
