Penguin release with a splash of sharks – Eco tour 28 January 2020
Happy Penguins
Written by Dickie Chivell, January 31 2020
We started our adventure by cruising through the shallows next to the beach, hugging the coast until we reached our sister company and stopped to check out some nice shark action. We made a quick stop by our MD dive team as they were placing some acoustic receivers in strategic positions around our coastline. We tag selected great white sharks with acoustic tags that let out a ping of sound every few seconds and if these or any other acoustically tagged animals swim past the receivers within a half kilometre radius it logs the date and time. This data gets used in a number of our conservation and research initiatives. We then proceeded to release some happy full belly penguins back into the wild after being rehabilitated at APSS our African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary. And as always some very curious cape fur seals did some people watching while we made our way up and down the world famous Shark Alley at our island systems. Thanks for joining guys and for those just reading up on the blog, hope to see you soon! 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.
