One morning with a Bryde’s whale in Algoa Bay.
By Lloyd Edwards

Friday, 7th January 2022

After some recent spectacular morning cruises in Algoa Bay with sightings of sardine bait balls, we headed off to Bird Island in anticipation of something special. The sea was flat and there was not a breath of wind . . . and for the next two hours we did not see a single animal besides the odd wayward Cape gannet! I suppose you cannot have calm seas and great sightings!

I stopped our catamaran “My China” just before Black Rocks near Bird Island. Seeing as there was no observable life around, I handed out our famous freshly baked cheese and tomato croissants. While we were munching away Keith Gibbs shouted, “whale on the starboard bow”. The next minute a large Bryde’s whale surfaced and blew a few metres from the boat!

For the next 15 minutes we were entertained by this fellow swimming around the boat and approaching us really closely. While our permit allows us to get up to 50 metres from cetaceans, if the animal approaches us closer, we can stay put and allow the whale to control the encounter. Bryde’s whales are notoriously difficult to photograph, as they show so little of their bodies unless they are feeding. I eventually climbed onto the viewing platform above the cabin and took, in my humble opinion, the most amazing sequence of a Bryde’s whale surfacing in a flat sea. We named this particular animal “Prop”, as it had a white marking on its flank which looks like it could have been caused by a propeller from a ski-boat.

These whales are resident along our coast throughout the year and do not make seasonal migrations to the Southern Oceans like their cousins the humpback whales. This is because they have mastered the art of hunting and consuming fast moving baitfish. These fish are full up in Algoa Bay at present, after the upwelling events drive by the easterly winds at the beginning of December last year.

Being an inshore species, many of these beautiful animals became entangled and drowned in the octopus fishery’s lines and buoys in the Western Cape. This was before public pressure forced Minister Creecy to intervene and made the fishery implement mitigation measures. Since then not a single Bryde’s whale has become entangled. The same cannot be said about the entanglement of cetaceans (especially Humpback whales) in the rock lobster fishery’s ropes and buoys. As per our previous posts, we will keep you updated in the progress on this topic.

Read more about this amazing Bryde's whale