Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 23 May
Written by May 23 2023

Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 02 April 2023:
Almost the whole day out at sea with Dyer Island Cruises, and we were successful with 5/5 of Marine Big 5. We were so lucky to again encounter the mother-calf pair of Bryde’s whales just as we left the harbour in a little bit deeper waters. They were shy, but did approach us a few times, so we had an amazing opportunity to witness them nice and close. And of course, we had a chance to enjoy Cape Fur seals and African penguins as we visited Shark Alley. At our sister company’s vessel Slashfin, we saw a few bronze whalers and a short-tailed stingray, the largest marine stingray species in the world. As we were cruising along the coastline we spotted a small pod of Bottlenose dolphins which absolutely made our trip and checked all 5 animals off our list.
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.
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.
Bottlenose Dolphin Bottlenose Dolphin
At present there are two recognized species of bottlenose dolphin, and in some cases, both species can be found in the same area. The two species are the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus). In addition, there is a great deal of variation in colouration, diet and behaviour. The difference between the common bottlenose and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin are subtle, but the common bottlenose dolphin generally larger and more robust with a slight darker colouration.
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.