Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 19 December
Written by December 19 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 19 December 2024:
The early bird catches the worm! As the wind picked up a little later, we headed out early today. Welcoming our guests aboard our whale-watching vessel Dream Catcher, we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us as usual and headed into our bay. Soon after arriving at the natural estuary, we were met by a rather big pod of the endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins! What a great start to our trip as we got some incredible looks at this amazing species just casually cruising around the vessel. The Marine Dynamics Shark cage diving vessel Slashfin launched even earlier than we did today. Once we arrived at their anchor spot within the Shallows, the divers were already in the cage with several Bronze whaler sharks surrounding them. Dyer Islands’ endangered African Penguins were soaking in the sun on top of the island before heading out for a long day at sea. Numerous other seabird species such as Terns and Cape Cormorants could already be seen heading out and leaving the island behind them. Entering Shark Alley numerous Cape fur seals already went into the cool waters for a quick morning dip while the newborn pups and youngsters were already roaming in between the still asleep adults on Geyser Rock. Taking a closer look at the top of the island a few Bank Cormorants, and endangered species, could also be spotted. We spend quite a bit of time in deeper waters on the lookout for some more wildlife. Unfortunately around the Pearly Beach area as well as Danger Point it was rather quiet today.
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What species did we see today?
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.
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.
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.
