Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 19 May
Written by May 19 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 19 May 2024:
Ending the week with incredible sightings and breaches! Welcoming both trips on our whale-watching vessel Dream Catcher, we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us and started our adventure out at sea in beautiful conditions. Both trips had amazing sightings throughout. Several endangered African Penguins could be seen on Dyer Island today roaming around or on the lookout on top of the boulders. Cape fur seals were sunbathing on the island watching our boat pass by or cooling down in Shark Alley. On the first trip, we were very excited to have spotted a Bryde’s whale cruising in the deep as well as a super active Humpback whale breaching! The second trip was not any less lucky. A second time we got to see the Humpback whale showing off! Bronze whaler sharks could unfortunately only be seen by trip number two but instead our early trip got to see a pod of the endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins. What a successful day with numerous exciting sightings!
Trip 1
Trip 2
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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.
Humpback Whale Humpback Whale
One of the best-known whale species, they are renowned for their acrobatic behaviour and complex melodious song as well as extremely long flippers and are a special favourite of Dyer Island Cruises guests and crew alike.
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.
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.
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.
