Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 26 January
Written by January 26 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 26 January 2024:
Heading into another day out at sea! Welcoming our guests on our Whale watching boat Dream Catcher we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us. We moved straight over to the natural estuary where we started our lookout as this area is quite popular for certain marine mammals. Cruising down the coastal waters we encountered a Bottlenose dolphin breaching and circling the boat! After spending some time with the dolphin and enjoying how active it was we approached the Shark cage diving boats and stopped by our sister company Marine Dynamics and their vessel Slashfin. Once we approached the sharks were already actively investigating the divers in the cage and we got some great views of the Bronze whaler sharks. Moving on we continued our way through the Reef system, De Clyde, towards the Island system, where we paid the endangered African Penguins and the Cape fur seals a visit. Stopping by Dyer Island allowed us to catch some views of the Penguins sitting on the boulders near the water. Heading over into Shark Alley we got to watch some seals playing and cooling down around our vessel whereas most of the colony was relaxing on Geyser Rock.
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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.
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.
