HUMPBACK WHALES ( Megaptera novaeangliae )

Between the months of May and September, Humpback whales follow their migrational route from their Antarctic summer feeding grounds, up the South African east coast towards Mozambique and Tanzania for calving purposes. This migration also happens to occur over the same time period as the sardine run but is completely unrelated to it.

Approximately 20 000 of these amazing marine mammals travel and pass fairly close to Port St Johns during the winter months,due to a drastic narrowing of the continental shelf along the Pondoland Wild Coast.

With the narrowing of the continental shelf along the Wild Coast, family pods have the opportunity to meet up with others of their kind. Spectacular breaches, tail lobbing, fin slapping and playful frolicking can be seen on most days throughout the winter period.

Humpback whales can grow to about 18m in length and can weigh up to 40 tons.
They have extremely long flippers, up to one third of their body length, which are partly white and knobbed on the edges. The white pigmentation patterns on the underside of the tail flukes are used to identify individuals, a “finger print” of sorts.
A small dorsal fin is situated on top of a hump of fatty tissue.
They also have the reputation of being the most musical of all whale species, singing eerie songs when within range of other pods and these songs can be heard for miles.

BRYDE’S WHALE (Balaenoptera edeni)

Bryde’s whales are frequently sighted during the sardine run and are easily identifiable by their long, slender bodies and short, slightly curved and pointed dorsal fin. They are rather shy in comparison to the Humpback whale, however they are far from shy in the water.

Many a diver has had a “brush” with a Bryde’s whale as it appears out of nowhere, mouth open to engulf a large mouthful of sardines in a bait ball.

They can be seen on the outskirts or in the middle of the action and do not wait for any permission to start feeding, taking notice of nothing else in doing so. Many a snorkeller has a tale or two of an up close and personal encounter with a Bryde’s whale with out expecting it.

A number of other whale species make an appearance along this particular stretch of coastline through the year, including Southern Right (Eubalaena australis),Dwarf minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and if very lucky Sperm Whale, Killer whale (Orca) and Blue Whale …the biggest creature on earth may be encountered on the odd occasion.

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS (Tursiops truncatus)

Resident groups frequent the Pondoland Wild Coast and KwaZulu Natal coastline throughout the year, making Port St Johns a fantastic place to view these incredible animals.

Bottlenose dolphins have a robust body, short “stubby” beak and a fairly tall dorsal fin. Colouring is mid grey above and a paler grey below. Spots are sometimes found on the lower body and flanks, which increases with age.
They are usually found traveling just behind the surf zone in groups of 10 – 50 and seldom found in water deeper then 30m, this making the Bottlenose the most common dolphin seen on our east African coast.
It is often very difficult to separate this species from the larger Atlantic Ocean bottlenose dolphin, especially those that do not have spots.

These animals have an amazing level of intelligence and have been known to aid swimmers and shipwreck victims in despair.
Military projects during world war two also involved dolphins to detonate mines in strategic shipping areas.

These are also the same dolphin one will be introduced to you by aquariums around the world.
Their acrobatic displays while hunting or frolicking in big surf are amazing to watch and offer some fantastic photographic opportunities.

COMMON DOLPHIN (Delphinus delphis)

The Common dolphin is a winter visitor to the Pondoland Wild Coast, arriving with the annual sardine run.
These animals congregate in their thousands and sometimes form super pods of anything between 50 and 20 000 strong whilst searching for sardines.

They are beautifully marked with dark grey above with a distinct “figure of eight” pattern formed on the flanks by a light yellow anterior segment and a pale posterior one.

These animals have the amazing ability to time giving birth to their young just before the sardine run, allowing the adults to wean and teach hunting tactics to their calves during this incredibly food rich period of the year.
It is truly graceful poetry to observe these incredible animals at work and at play and are often seen playing in the bow waves of ships and ski boats.

HUMPBACK DOLPHIN (Sousa chinensis)

The Humpback dolphin has a robust body with a long slender beak. Their pectoral flippers are fairly short and squat .The dorsal fin is small and situated on top of a large hump of fatty tissue.
Colouring is slate grey above and pale below.

These animals are often solitary, the usual social unit is a group of 2 – 20 strong (average about 7).
They are occasionally found integrated with larger schools of Bottlenose dolphins and generally tend to be shy.
Humpback dolphins prefer living inshore and rarely venture more then 1 km from the coastline or more then 20m in depth.

Their preference for living in turbid waters may increase their susceptibility to predation as nearly 30% exhibit healed shark bite wounds.
They are often found in open estuary systems where they hunt for shoaling fish species like spotted and striped grunter, pinkies, ribbon fish and mullet.
These animals are generally very shy towards humans as they are extremely vulnerable whilst hunting within estuary and river delta systems.