Humpbacks, Bryde’s, Southern Rights
Humpback, Bryde’s, and Southern Right whales – we saw them all during a whale watching trip yesterday! It’s early season on the Whale Coast, so I was hopeful but not overly optimistic. Heavy sea swells caused cancellation of previous Southern Right charters, but we hit the jackpot and delighted in spectacular whale sightings!!
After a briefing, about seventy-five passengers boarded catamaran Miroshca on a whale watching outing. We departed Hermanus New Harbor at 3 pm for a sunset tour. Miroshca had been out on Walker Bay several times that day, and returning passengers were ecstatic after seeing all three whale species that frequent Walker Bay!
Safety and Conservation
Environmentally sensitive Southern Right Charters promotes the conservation and safety of whales and marine life. Their ethos is “Observing NOT Disturbing”. Whale watching boats aren’t permitted to approach whales closer than 160 feet, but the “naturally curious creatures” often come near the boat. When they do, it’s magic!
Guides, Videographer, Drone
Well-trained guides and whale specialists helped via a PA system. They spotted and identified whales and provided commentary interpreting the behavior of marine life that we encountered. There was considerable swell in the Bay, but nothing that Miroshca couldn’t handle – not so sure about the passengers. It’s difficult holding on, watching whales, and taking photos all at the same time.
A videographer captured the best footage from our trip. I tried watching and taking photos from several vantage points and preferred the upper deck. My photos are disappointing, but I got a distant shot of a Southern Right breaching and one or two other photos were decent.
The guides used a drone to spot nearby whales from above. Videographer footage combined with drone photos were converted to a souvenir USB. The USB also has excerpts from two documentaries – Hermanus and Surrounds and The Whale Season.
Seabirds and Seals
We saw nimble Cormorants, deep-diving Gannets, acrobatic Sooty Shearwaters, and playful Cape Fur Seals. Fur Seals are endemic to Southern Africa. Hundreds were in the colony that followed our boat. Expressive creatures, their loud racket left no doubt they were present!
Cormorants are avid fishers. They live along the coast and spend much of their time at sea. They breed in large numbers on nearby Dyer Island. Dyer Island Conservation Trust provides “unique conservation and research programmes in the local marine ecosystem”. I hope to visit the island while in the Overberg area.
We approached a mass of Cormorants floating on the seawater. From a distance, they looked like a bunch of seaweed. As the boat got closer, they suddenly took off in mass flight!
Humpback, Bryde’s, Southern Right
The first whale spotted was a Humpback with her young calf – estimated at 3 to 5 days old. It was tiny and seemed to be playing with its mother. The baby flipped over and the mother breached, but I wasn’t quick enough to get photos. Our guide said it’s unusual to see a Humpback calf in Walker Bay this early in winter. The calf’s color was white – this changes to black within a few months.
Humpbacks pass through Walker Bay on their way north. They migrate to warmer water near the equator to mate and have their calves. Male Humpbacks are known for their “complex melancholy songs, sometimes lasting 10 to 20 minutes and repeated for hours”.
Next, we encountered several playful Bryde’s whales – pronounced “brutus”. Intelligent creatures, they knew the boat wasn’t “of the sea” but were curious and played cat and mouse with Miroshca. They came close to the sides and front of the boat, disappeared, and returned.
Bryde’s whales live in Walker Bay year-round. They’re smaller than Humpbacks and Southern Rights and named after John Bryde, a Norwegian whaler who was consul to South Africa. During the whaling era, Bryde set up whaling ports “to capture whales and sell their baleen, oil, and blubber for money”. In 1912, he financed the first scientific investigation of whales in South African waters.
We encountered Southern Rights near the end of the trip. They were playing in the surf close to shore. There were several of them and a calf. One suddenly breached, and it was absolutely stunning!!!
Of all the whales, Southern Rights were the friendliest. They’re distinguished by the callosities (calluses) on their head. One came close to the boat, and as if it wanted to play, another rolled over on its back.
One explanation for their name is “whalers identifying them as the ‘right’ whale to kill on a hunt due to their plentiful oil and baleen”. During summer, Right Whales feed offshore near Antarctica. In winter, they return to nearshore waters like Walker Bay.
Southern Rights choose Walker Bay as a favorite spot for mating and calving. They don’t feed during winter. Females produce a “single offspring every 3 to 4 years”. The average gestation period from conception to birth is about twelve months. When they have mated, females return to Antarctica. After a year, they return to Walker Bay to give birth to their calves.
The mother nurses her baby, and is the calf’s sole source of food, training, play, and protection. When born, calves are about 16 feet long and weigh around 2000 lbs. They can grow an inch in length and 130 lbs. in weight per day – “making them double in length and increase five times in weight in a year”! Whale milk is extremely high in fat content, and calves can suckle up to 160 gallons of milk per day.
Southern Right calves need from three to six months to get strong enough for the swim back to Antarctica. They stay with their mother for about twelve months, sometimes longer. They’re considered “mature” after 10 years. The average lifespan of Southern Right whales is 100 years!
Sea Swell and Seasickness
At sunset we headed back to New Harbor in a heavy swell. During the ride, about half the passengers on board got seasick. Fortunately, I didn’t. It was amazing to see the whales and other marine life so close – beautiful and hard to describe… The swell was way too heavy for kayaks, but I’m scheduled for a kayak trip next week and hoping it’s a go then! Today the wind turned ferocious!
