My best whale breaching moments

This post is dedicated just to Southern right whale breaching behaviour. These are by far my best whale breaching moments that will stay with  me forever. The size, power and beauty of these whales is incredible!

Southern right whales in October

My last month in South Africa and the Southern right whale encounters just keep getting better. This was by far the month that I had the best encounters with these very social and inquisitive whales.

Southern right whale rolling over and lifting up its pectoral fin

Southern right whale chin close-up

Syncrhonised swimming - adult and calf

Wave surfing

Breaching brindle baby!

Brindle Southern right whales are a rare colour variant that are almost completely white with variable black spots. Despite being rare, I got to see a few brindle individuals in South Africa, including this breaching brindle calf. About 94% of brindle whales are males and this rare pigmentation pattern is created by a brindle male mating with a partial grey female. 

Breaching brindle Southern right whale

Brindle calf supported on an adult's back

Another breach!

This pale brindle whale is very playful

Southern right whale brindle calf

September sea sightings

As the winter progresses the sea sightings start to ramp up along the South African coast. Cetacean (whales and dolphins) sightings are best this time of they year, in particular Southern right whales will often put on a good show (e.g. breaching as shown in the photos below). It's also a good time and place to encounter a variety of other species, such as Cape fur seals, sharks and a range of marine birds. 

Cape fur seals

A very curious Southern right whale

Southern right whale breaching

Southern right whale head

Southern right whale tail

Bank cormorant

Social southern right whales

Southern right whales congregate in South African breeding grounds to mate and calve during the winter. During this time these whales are often very active and will put on displays such as breaching, lobtailing and spyhopping. They also spend a lot of time interacting with each other as well as with their environment (such as through rolling and surfing in the waves and playing with seaweed).

Southern right whale raising its head out of the water

Southern right whale carrying a piece of seaweed on top of its head

Southern right whale lobtiailing

The identifying v-shaped blow of the Southern right whale

Southern right whale close to shore

My first brindle baby

Not all Southern right whales have a dark colouration. About 4% of calves are born with a 'brindle' pigmentation pattern. These brindle whales are almost completely white, with variable dark spots and a speckled black colour around the neck region. With such a small percentage of brindle whales in the population I was very excited to see my first brindle baby while whale watching in South Africa!

Brindle calf alongside a much darker adult

Southern right whales breeding in South Africa

My 2019 whale watching season that I spent with Dyer Island Cruises coincided with the Southern right whale breeding season. Every year from about July to November large numbers of these whales congregate in mating and calving grounds such as along the southern tip of South Africa. After a gestation period of 12-13 months, a calf of 4-5 metres in length is born. While the adults are engaged in mating or calving they will be fasting and living off their fat reserves. By the end of the calving season, lactating mothers would have lost a third of their body weight. Therefore, for the remainder of the year, Southern right whales will head to more productive subantarctic waters to feed and regain their massive weight of up to 80 tonnes. Did you know that right whales have the largest testes in the world?! Each one can reach up to 500kg!

Heads and tails of Southern right whales

Whales are extremely sociable creatures. Right whales in particular are often seen in a variety of social displays when they are on their winter breeding grounds. They will come right into the shallows where they roll around at the surface, in pairs or even large gatherings. During my winter stay in South Africa I got to see a lot of these social interactions between Southern right whales. The result is many photos of the heads and tails of these social whales:

Mouth slightly ajar

This whale is showing its pectoral fin

Some tail action

Them most beautiful tail

Out to see Southern right whales

Why I went to live in South Africa for 3 months comes down to a simple reason - whales! Southern right whales to be specific. The Western Cape of South Africa is one of the world's best places to see these friendly gentle giants. The region hosts a steadily increasing population that survived the whaling era. Each year from July to November these whales congregate here, coming together to calve and mate. Their preference is for very shallow water, which means they can often easily be seen from shore as they roll around in the surf!

Often seen in the shallows, rolling around in the surf zone

Southern right whale tilting its head out of the water

Close up of a callosity (essentially a cluster of barnacles and whale lice) on a southern right whale's head

In case you've ever wondered what it looks like to have a southern right whale coming right at you