Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 29 August
Written by August 29 2023
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 29 August 2023:
It is as if Summer had arrived early today with a stunner of a day out on the bay. The first trip went for a visit by the shark cage diving vessels first, taking a look at the Bronze whaler sharks, before heading to the edge of the bay and encountering two Bottlenose dolphins and close by some Southern Right whales. At the end of the trip, we managed to encounter all five of the Marine Big 5: whales, dolphins sharks, seals, and penguins! We started the second trip with some lovely Bronze whaler shark sightings by our sister company and headed out to Pearly Beach to find some whales. We had some wonderful sightings of the Southern Right whales for this trip, we were literally surrounded by whales with whales seen no matter which direction we looked. We had a fantastic viewing of an adult who logged on the surface calmly, close to the boat. The third and final trip of the day followed with similar success with marine wildlife encounters. We started with Bronze whaler sharks at our sister company, before stopping close by for a Southern Right whale pair along with a Bottlenose dolphin pair. We spent much of the trip in the bay next to ours enjoying some absolutely stunning whale encounters, with some up-close views and beautiful surface activity. We finished the day with 5 out of 5 for the Marine Big 5! All our trips had an opportunity to spend some time in Shark Alley with Cape Fur seals and find some African penguins on and around Dyer Island. All in all fantastic and very warm day out at sea for us!
Trip 1.
Trip 2.
Trip 3.
Tripadvisor – https://bit.ly/2YZ0jDR
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Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WhaleWatchSA
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.
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.
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.
