A juvenile southern right whale (Image from a painting by Elisabeth Poulsom, Cape Gallery)

The annual migration of southern right whales from their icy feeding grounds off Antarctica to warmer climates sees the majestic beasts reaching South Africa in June. Our coastal waters teem with the giant animals, mating, calving and rearing their young, while giving whale-watchers magnificent displays of massive power and elegant water acrobatics.

The whale gets its name from the fact it was once regarded as the “right” whale to hunt - being slow-moving, rich in oil and baleen, they float when killed and provide an enormous yield to hunters.

It was this “rightness” brought the animals to the brink of extinction in the early 20th century, as whalers killed an estimated 20 000 of the animals. However, protected in South African waters since 1935, their numbers have slowly crept back to a global population of around4 000, most of which visit South Africa’s coastline every year - much to the delight of locals and visitors from around the world.

Courting, nursing and playing

At around 60 tons and with an estimated lifespan of around 100 years, the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) has became a major tourist attraction up and down the South African coast. The sheltered bays of the Cape coast provide a breeding ground where these incredible animals spend up to five months a year. Visitors delight to the animals passing their time playing, courting, and nursing newborn calves, often just metres from the shore.

Rounder and heavier than the humpback or Bryde’s whale and smaller only than the blue whale, southern rights are massive, rotund creatures which can be identified by their lack of a dorsal fin, stubby square-ended flippers, and by callosities, unusual wart-like growths, on the head.

Usually a dark bluish-black in colour, about 4% of calves are born entirely white. This is a sex-linked genetic trait - all white calves are male - and the colour darkens to the usual black as the animal matures.

Spring - from July to October in South Africa - sees the breeding season of these animals. Females calve every three years - there’s a year of gestation, a year raising the calf and a year of rest. The cow needs the rest year to recover from the tremendous physical strain of gestating a four-ton calf in just 12 months, and suckling it for another six months. A csouthern right alf can drink up to 200 litres of milk and grow by as much as three centimetres every day.

Antics in the ocean

Sensitive, intelligent and inquisitive, these whales form small social groups of about six related animals. In the breeding season cow and calf pairs can often been seen frolicking in the water together. The way mother and child breach (raise themselves out of the water) one after the other suggests that this and other behaviour may be taught.

Southern rights are willing performers for onlookers, often breaching several times in a row to hit the water again with a cannon-blast sound. Another characteristic behaviour, unique to the right whale, is resting head-down in the water for several minutes with the flukes held aloft, as if hoping to be pushed along by the wind - called “sailing” or “head-standing”.

Flipper slapping, lobtailing - slapping the tail on the water - and spyhopping, or raising the massive head to see above the surface - all indicate the playfulness and intelligence of these massive animals. Their sense of curiosity often leads them to approach boats to investigate - a trait that had tragic consequences in the days of the whalers.

The best time for watching the southern right whale in South African waters is from June to November along the Cape south coast, although some will already be as far north as KwaZulu-Natal. Peak calving season is July and August, but whales can still be seen throughout September and October.

Your whale-watching route

South Africa’s whale-watching territory runs from Doringbaai, south of Cape Town, eastwards along the coast as far as Durban in KwaZulu Natal. Whales can be seen from cliffs and beaches, and boat operators also offer trips out to sea for an even closer encounter.

Hermanus, on the Cape south coast, offers what is possibly the best land-based whale watching in the world. The animals can be clearly seen from a scenic cliff-top walk, and the town holds an whale-watching festival every September which is well-attended by locals and visitors from across the globe.

Hermanus claims to be the whale capital of the world - but so does Plettenberg Bay, further east along the coast. Southern rights can be seen in the bay from around June to November. As an added treat, migratory humpback whales can also be briefly seen from May and June and then, on their return trip, from about November to January.

The Garden Route from Stilbaai through Mossel Bay and on to George, Wilderness, Knysna and Tsitsikamma is a magnificent stretch of coastline hosting southern rights in their season, humpbacks between May and December, Bryde’s whales all year round - and, occasionally, killer whales.

From the beautiful Cape St Francis to the rugged and spectacular Wild Coast, there are many vantage points for enthusiasts to see humpbacks, Bryde’s, minke and killer whales and quite often southern rights, especially in Algoa Bay, while sperm and beaked whales approach close to shore off Port St Johns.

Humpback whales are spotted almost daily during their northward migration from May to July and again on their return journey from November to January, occasionally being spotted as far north as Cape Vidal. On the Cape west coast, excellent sightings of southern rights can be enjoyed all the way from Strandfontein, to Lambert’s Bay, Elands Bay, St Helena, Saldanha and Ysterfontein, just north of Cape Town.

Whales can also be seen all around the Cape Peninsula and along the south coast to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. Agulhas is particularly rewarding, with great views of southern right cows and calves at play - up to 50 pairs at a time. It’s a must-see for anyone interested in marine life, and whales in particular.

Source: SouthAfrica.info
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