The first right whale calves of the season, 20 August 2019
The first Southern right whale calves of the year
Written by August 21 2019
Fantastic sightings of the Marine big 5
Today we had one of those unforgettable wildlife days out on the water. We could already feel it would be a great day just after our first departure because within minutes we already encountered the rarest member of our marine big 5 – Indian Ocean humpback dolphins. There were three individuals, perhaps the same three that we sighted just a few days ago. One of these was a small baby dolphin, swimming close alongside its mother. It was a real delight to see this recent addition into the population. Our whale sightings today also included baby whales, in fact today marked our first sightings of Southern right whale calves. On the first tour of the day we encountered the first calf, and later in the day when we returned to ocean we spotted two different calves, and six southern right whales in total. The mothers of these calves would have mated around this time last year, and they have now returned to the area to give birth to their calves. As well as Southern right whales throughout the whole day, on all tours we also visited the Cape fur seal colony on Geyser rock and the endangered African penguins in Sponge bay, Dyer Island.
Southern right whale calf
Southern right whale mum and calf
Southern right whale mum and calf
A lucky close encounter with a Southern right whale
African penguins on Dyer Island
Bank cormorant
Cape fur seal swimming
Cape fur seals and a black African oystercatcher
Hartlaub gull
Indian Ocean humpback dolphin, surfacing with its beak towards us
Indian Ocean humpback dolphin
Kelp gull resting on our boat
Shark cage diving
Southern right whales – mum and calf
Sub Antarctic skua
Southern right whale surfacing
Putting the crabs back in the ocean
Our guide Jax showing some small crabs
Marine Dynamics boat
