Guess who’s back, back again
Plettenberg Bay’s coastline is teeming with life as the winter season signals the arrival of some of the ocean’s larger creatures.
Over the past few weeks, locals and researchers have reported several sightings of whales, great white sharks and increased activity in the Robberg Cape fur seal colony.
A great sense of excitement reins in Plett when the whales start arriving, as these massive marine mammals are ingrained in the town’s history. Although the area was known for its whaling in the 1800s and early 1900s, today it is known as one of the best whale-watching spots in the world.
While these magnificent creatures can be seen in the area throughout most of the year, the winter months are especially spectacular as humpback and southern right whales pass through the bay on their migration from the Antarctic to their breeding and feeding grounds around Mozambique and Angola. They usually put up a spectacular show as a result of breaching, and their splashes can be observed from most vantage points in Plett.
Residents and researchers have also noted an increase in great white shark sightings along the local coastline.
The NSRI is urging those who take to the water along the Southern Cape coast, particularly Plettenberg Bay, to be cautious. “The increase of sharks at this time of the year is part of the normal aggregation of these animals that take advantage of natural prey like seals and fish close inshore. A large number of shark sightings and some encounters have been reported close inshore along the Plettenberg Bay coastline over the past few weeks,” the NSRI said in a statement.
The local Orca Foundation said the arrival of the great white sharks is strongly linked to the behaviour of naive little Cape fur seal pups “which are now venturing further away from the colony as they explore the shallow waters surrounding the peninsula”, the Orca Foundation team said.
Marine biologist Dr Alison Kock explained that the presence of sharks, especially those at the top of the food chain, is a sign that there is enough food to support them, suggesting a relatively healthy ecosystem.
“In areas for example, some coral reefs where sharks have been fished out, the ecosystem is less biodiverse and less healthy. Thus, having sharks around is actually a good sign for our ecosystems,” Kock said.
There also seems to be an increase in activity among the Robberg seal colony. Local marine biologist Frikkie van der Vyver said the pups have now lost the coats they carried for the first three to five months of their lives. This coat insulated them from solar radiation while they were on land and prevented them from overheating during the hot summer months.
They are now covered in a dense undercoat with brown guard hairs over a thick layer of blubber, which means they are insulated for survival in the cold marine environment which they are now beginning to explore in between short periods of suckling milk from their mothers.
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News