Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 25 May
Written by May 25 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 25 May 2024:
After we could not head out to sea yesterday we are ready to greet our guests again on our whale-watching boats. Leaving Kleinbaai Harbour behind us we headed further into the bay already on the lookout for any marine life in the area. While cruising down the coastline the first trip was super lucky to have spotted some of the endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins breaching in the distance. We headed a bit closer and got some nice looks before we decided to move on. Passing by Marine Dynamics vessel Slashfin, we saw the incredible Bronze Whaler sharks. We were able to see them off the boat due to their cage being attached to the side of the boat instead of submerged in the water. Several sharks even came closer to our vessel. In deeper waters, we were accompanied by some pelagic birds looking for some fish underneath the surface. including a Shy Albatross that passed our boat. Shortly before we reached the island system we spotted a young Humpback whale on the first trip! We spent some time with the whale and after we got to view it for a little bit circling the boat we let it be, encountered a sunfish close to the surface and continued our trip. Once we made it to Geyser Rock, we were met by several different bird species nesting on Dyer Island. Geyser Rocks Cape Fur seal colony was, as always, super busy and left our guests in awe while cruising up and down Shark Alley. The endangered African Penguins could also be seen roaming around on the opposite side of Dyer Island sitting on the boulders close to the beach. On the second trip, we even got to see several penguins swimming in the water on the way back to Kleinbaai Harbour.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sunfish
