Marine Big 5 day, 07 October 2019
Written by October 7 2019
Today was a Marine Big 5 day. That means that we encountered whales, dolphins, seals, penguins and sharks on all our tours. We felt very blessed to have a group of about 30 bottlenose dolphins close to shore, as the dolphins are the Marine Big 5 member that we typically encounter the least. Further along the coastline we had plenty of Southern right whales to see, and we enjoyed watching mother and juvenile pairs rolling around in the surf and interacting with each other. We paid a visit to Sponge Bay on Dyer Island to try to spot some African penguins on the rocks, but a juvenile individual that was on Geyser rock turned out to be the penguin to watch today. It was quite a nice surprise to see this penguin happily moving around between the Cape fur seals on the rock. Bronze whaler sharks were encountered all day, and we even got a sighting of a Great white shark in the morning.
Photos from today
Bottlenose dolphins in the early morning light
A great white shark
A big Southern right whale
Juvenile Southern right whale breathing
Juvenile Southern right whale playing with kelp
African penguin confronting a Cape fur seal
Bottlenose dolphin calf
A bottlenose dolphin playing with some kelp
A Cape fur seal and two bottlenose dolphins
A Cape fur seal, Bank cormorant and Kelp gull
The African penguin was still with the seals on our second trip
A raft of Cape cormorants
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.
Great white sharks Great white sharks
Gracious, beautiful, misunderstood - three words used by guests of Dyer Island Cruises after witnessing South Africa's most infamous marine species: The Great White Shark.
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 Cormorant Cape Cormorant
One of the most famous species of Cormorant in the Western Cape, the Cape Cormorant is well known for it's beautiful turquoise eye and impressive size.
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.
Bank Cormorant Bank Cormorant
Often enjoying a broad diet including klipfish, rock lobster and more, the increasing rarety of the Bank Cormorant makes every moment we see them even more special.
