Large supergroups of Humpback whales were recently spotted gathering near Dassen Island, south of Saldanha Bay.
Dave Hurwitz of Simon’s Town Boat Company actually described the remarkable sight as something resembling salmon rather than whales.
According to Cape Talk, Dave estimates that between 1 500 to 2 000 animals have been scattered across the waters over the past two weeks. The whales have apparently discovered a huge amount of krill, their primary food source, which has been brought to the surface by upwelling.
He also explains that whales are in a “suspended migration” before they make their way to their breeding grounds .
Simon’s Town Boat Company took to Facebook to share the spectacular sight saying there is ‘100’s of photos to sort through’ but in the meantime shared an aerial image to give people an idea of the magnitude of the event.
Others joined Dave in collecting more data on the feeding supergroups that are forming off the West Coast. In the process, they collected nearly 2000 identification photos and recorded over two hours of (very loud) underwater acoustic recordings.