Marine big 5 in a calm ocean, 16 August 2019
Breaching southern right whales and more
Written by August 18 2019
Guide Summary.
Today was a beautiful calm day and we were lucky to encounter the marine big 5 – southern right whales, Indian Ocean humpback dolphins, cape fur seals, African penguins and great white sharks. It has been a few weeks since we encountered humpback dolphins, so it was nice to welcome them back during our morning tours. We encountered three individuals, one of which was a small calf travelling in the swell alongside its mother. The southern right whales were also a nice treat today. We got to encounter them on all of our tours and it was nice to see some mating behaviour. The whales were rolling around, showing parts of their tails, pectoral fins and white bellies. On two of our tours we were even lucky to see some breaching, which is when a whale launches its body out of the water and comes down with a huge splash. It’s not every day that we get to see a 40-60 t animal jumping out of the water. The cape fur seals on Geyser rock were a nice sighting as always and everyone delighted in seeing them in the water close around our boat in the clear calm water. Finally, the smallest member of the marine big 5, the African penguin was sighted on all of our tours, giving us all a nice complete experience of the diversity of marine life that we have in the Dyer Island ecosystem.
Daily snaps
A family watching southern right whales
Southern right whales close to shore
Southern right whale rolling over, showing its white belly
Southern right whale waving with its pectoral fin
Southern right whale breaching!
Southern right whale mating behaviour
Great white dorsal fin next to our sister company’s boat
Curious southern right whale approaching us
Curious cape fur seal
African penguins on Dyer Island
What species did we see today?
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.
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.
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 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.
