Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 20 July
Written by July 20 2023
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 20 July 2023:
What a stunning day of encounters for our first day back on the sea in five days. We came across a small pod of Indian Ocean Humpback dolphins at the start of our trip, however, they appeared happy in the very shallow water and we could only watch from a distance as they frolicked in the swell. To our great surprise we lucked onto two separate sightings of Southern Right whales in the bay, one a single adult, the other a cow/calf pair! An unbelievable sighting for us, as we did not expect to see such a pair so soon in the season. We watched, delighted at this pair, but only for a little while as we did not want to disturb them for too long. We made a quick visit by the shark boats, but unfortunately, the shark sightings were quite whilst we were around before we made our way to the Islands for a look at the African penguin colony of Dyer Island and the Cape fur seal colony of Geyser Rock. As we made our way around the point to Gansbaai Harbour to finish our trip, we enjoyed some fantastic bird sightings including three shy albatross.
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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.
Southern Right Whale Southern Right Whale
Southern right whales attract thousands of visitors every year to experience these gentle giants off the South African coast.
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.
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.
