Because whales are huge water bound mammals we more than often do not know what to look for if we are whale spotting, I have on my tours have observed that even Tourist Guides make mistakes in identifying some whales. With this I will not say that I will be correct every time, and it is for this reason I would like to give a few tips that I use to spot and Identify the various whales that visit our coast.
The Southern Right Whale is perhaps the easiest to Identify because their numbers are greater and they have a few fundamental things to look out for. When you see a spray with a distinctive V shape you can expect it to be a Southern Right Whale. Your next tactic is to use your binoculars to see if the whale has the tell-tale off-white callosities on the head and while doing this you have to look if you see a dorsal fin. Southern Rights do not have dorsal fins, another sure way to identify them is that their flippers are paddle shaped and broad, their tail flukes are dark on the upper as well as the bottom. When they do “spyhopping” you may see the pronounced bow shaped mouth. These 50 ton beasts can be spectacular when they breach, with a repeated full body breach ending with a massive splash when they re-enter the water.
Humpback Whales are our next most frequent visitor and they also have very clear ways to I identify. They are known as the acrobats among the Whales, they are smaller and swim much faster than the Right Whales they have dual blowholes but their single spray, up to 4 meters high are very different from the Southern Rights. When you have seen the spray also look for the dorsal fin visible as an extension of a hump on the back of the whale, o yes the Tail flukes have as in the case of the flippers a ragged edge with white markings on the underside. While mentioning the flippers, they are long elongated and in many cases up to a third of the length of the Whale, best to be seen when they are doing their spectacular breaching display. When they are spyhopping you will also notice the usually white and pleated under throat. A difficult whale to follow because of its speed but extremely satisfying to watch when they are actively showboating with huge multiple breaches.
Our third whale is the more rarely spotted Bryde’s Whale appears to be resident to the Southern African shores and sightings in summer are not uncommon. To identify them you will have to look for a low and compact spray, much smaller that the Humpbacks spray. The dorsal fin is also clearly from the back unlike the Humpbacks distinctive hump, this fin also have a clear hook, similar to a dolphin in appearance. These whales are slower than the Humpbacked Whale and breaching is usually a shallow and is followed by a much smaller splash than the two previously mentioned. Should they ever come close enough for you to see them from above you will see the distinctive three longitudinal ridges on the head, the flippers are leaf shaped and have smooth edges, and the tail flukes which is seldomly seen are triangular in shape.
We do have visits from Orcas, Sperm Whales and many of the smaller species, as beaching of these occur on our Coast line are testimony to, but for us the land based whale spotters finding satisfaction in spotting our three great whales is an experience not to be missed.
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