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24 Jun 2020

Whale visit proves to be right on time

(South Coast Herald) Picture: Southern right whale and calf off Uvongo.

Two southern right whales attracted some attention on the South Coast in the area just north of Uvongo beach yesterday. South Coast businessman Louis Boshoff of St Mike’s explained that it was a mother and its calf.

“They were very close to the shore, just behind the backline. Southern rights have a habit of sitting for a few days in a specific area,” he added.

During the Sardine Run, there are usually two types of whales which frequent the coastline in our area – the southern right and the humpback whale. As Louis explained, the southern rights are the ones which hang quite close to the shore, while the humpbacks are the ‘entertainers’, the whales which breach the water in spectacular fashion, but are usually further out.

According to some experts in the field, there’s evidence to suggest that the numbers of the protected southern rights (named because they were the ‘right’ whale to hunt) are increasing, as is the case with the humpbacks.

 

Southern right whale and calf off Uvongo. Photo by Louis Boshoff

If you didn’t get to see the whales, don’t despair. It’s that time of the year where whale activity increases and more are expected to make their way to our waters soon. If the spectacular Sardine Run experienced so far is anything to go by, then perhaps the whales could provide an additional treat.

https://youtu.be/YevHXOlZJio

Drone footage courtesy of Ant Hooper