Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 28 November
Written by November 28 2022
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 28 November 2022:
Today saw another wet and wild day out on the bay and whilst we did not encounter any whales we did have some amazing luck with dolphins as two different species were spotted for the day, a small pod of Humpback dolphins enjoying the shallow waters near the mouth of the local estuary system along with a lone African penguin and a larger pod of Bottlenose dolphins in the deeper waters in the bay next to ours. A visit to our sister company, Marine Dynamics, busy with shark cage diving in the bay provided some wonderful sightings of the Bronze whaler sharks and a Cape fur seal proudly displaying its’ catch of fish. We finished off our trip with a visit to the Cape fur seal colony on Geyser Rock and a closer look at Dyer Island and the birds coming and going from the colony there.
Trip 1
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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.
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.
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.
