Year after year Cape Town is visited by travellers weighing many kilos. These socialites like to frollick about in the seas off some of the most hip and happening beaches in Cape Town. During their stay they do not eat but are sustained by their body fat while there only focus during this time is to engage in sexual activities and giving birth!!!!
Sounding like where that sinful & perverted next door neighbour goes every summer?
Don't worry were not talking about any drunken immoral people but rather extremely sociable and entertaining Southern Right Whales . Measuring between 40 and 80 tons and up to 18 meters in length when fully grown they grace our shores between the months of July to November to procreate & calve eventually producing approximately 7m long newborn carves.
They are very easy to identify having what is known as Callosities (which look similar to warts or barnacles) all over their heads. Another common way of identifying Southern Rights is by its 'V' shaped Blow hole which produces two jets of water spray when it blows.
Southern Right Whales tend to be very entertaining and we've spent many hours sitting alongside shorelines viewing them just metres from us doing some very acrobatic styled circus tricks.
Southern Rights have good eyesight above the water which they often use popping their heads out of the water and curiously inspecting their surroundings, this is known as 'Spy hopping'.
'Breaching' is when a whale leaps out of the water and makes a huge splash. It is believed to be a form of communication and a form of moulting parasites and dead skin.
'Lobtailing' is commonly seen between mothers and calves when a mother slaps her tail on the water to communicate with her offspring.
'Sailing' is a strange tick where they put their tails straight up out of the water presumably to catch the breeze.
There name comes from the fact that in former years they were known as the 'right' whale to kill . Being curious they would come up close to (whaling) ships and move slowly but most importantly they would float when they were dead due to the abundance of blubber which gave high yields of valuable oil. Thankfully in 1979 whaling was banned by the South African Government and since then have been protected.
All along the Western Cape Coastline you'll find great easily accessible whale watching spots such as False Bay, Hermanus, Sandbaai, Stillbaai, Struisbaai, Arniston, Cape Infanta, De Hoop Nature Reserve. But more about that in future articles.....by the way does anyone know where that sexy next door neighbour go every summer????