Humpbacks Flat Out
By Lloyd Edwards

1. News

The Annual Humpback Northern Migration started off quite slowly. There were a few around at our 8th “Welcoming the Whales Festival” on the 7th June, but nowhere around the numbers of previous years. Very few have been spotted in Southern Mozambique or Reunion Island.

It was only when we did a survey to the Addo Canyons on the Continental Shelf in mid-June, that we found the motherload. There were scores of them 60km from shore. If we had not gone that far out to sea, we wouldn’t have known that there were so many around! So often we only rely on the areas we can see and not those that lurk over the horizon.

Some scientists are of the opinion that the Humpback whale populations have recovered to pre-exploitation levels, while others think that the populations are still growing.

Whichever is true, they are starting to behave in ways never seen before. The Humpback Super Groups off our west coast is a case in point. Similar aged non breeders on the Continental Shelf are another anomaly. Could it be that these subadults have some affinity for the highly productive submarine canyons? Scientists are starting to explore this possibility, and our Raggy Charters scientists are right on it! Time will tell.

Our reward coming back from a day at the Addo Submarine Canyons. Taken with a Nikon Z9, ISO 200, 70mm zoom, 1/1600th second and f6.3 which was a mistake, but I did not have time to change my settings!

Off Cape Recife yesterday. Taken with a Nikon Z9, ISO 320, 200mm zoom, f/8 and 1/1600th second.

The same animal doing the reentry.

This was a young animal which breached many times in succession.

Capturing the whale in the early stages of a breach is always first prize.

As you can see, the wind was up which is always a good time to catch the breaches.

Those flippers are the largest appendage of any animal on the planet.

The rorqual pleats or throat grooves allow the whale to take in large amounts of water and prey, which are then filtered out using the baleen plates.