Hermanus Whale Crier

e. There are over seventy six species of different whales in the waters of the world, however most of them have since became a threatened species. The Northern Right Whales are less than 300 in population numbers world wide, while the Southern Rights, the ones that frolic in the Hermanus bay, have increased phenomenally over the recent year’s ± 8000 animals. The Southern Right Whales are mammals in nature i.e. [warm blooded, suckle their young and breath like humans].

2001 was the highlight of our marine tourism industry in that, Mr. Vali Moosa, the then Minister of Environmental Affairs declared the Walker Bay a “Whale Sanctuary”. This happened under the auspecies of the Walker Bay Action Group of Hermanus. It was declared a sanctuary because whales needed to be protected from human interference while they were breeding in Die Plaat, a long and pristine shallow sandy beach in close proximity to Gansbaai. The Southern Right Whales follow a pattern called “Feast and Fast”. This implies that whales are at the bay for mating and calving, from June to October[don’t feed ], and then swim back to the South Pole ± 4000 km between December and May[ to feed]. The cows weigh about 60 tones, give birth to live babies and they grow to a length of 30m. Bulls however, have a p***s that extends for 3 m and do not fight among themselves for a mate; however they strive for s***m dominance. To explain this trend further, the strongest bull and the one that has the ability to mate for a few times fertilize the cow ultimately. The name ‘walker bay ‘is derived from Mr. Walker who was instrumental in
Analyzing the geography of the bay in Hermanus hence the name Walkerbay
The underlying coastline of the later has since been granted status of a nature reserve and is called ‘ THE WALKERBAY NATURE RESERVE ‘. The mother Whale protects her baby for the entire duration of her breast feeding [one year]. Mating takes place in deeper waters and a school of say ten males frolic with one female for a mate. The mother whale has a gestation period of 12 months (period between mating and bearing of the calf). During birth, the mother whale is assisted by three or four mid wives to lift up the baby into the air for the first breath so that it does not drown in the salty water. Our pristine beach with its warm and shallow waters is very ideal for calving and that takes place during August and September annually. The eyes of the whales have a greasy substance that protects them from the salty and biting sea water. Whales in general are very friendly animals and they are incredibly huge. They are the largest living mammals on earth after the Dinosaurs the blue whale being the mightiest of all, [33m in length]. Southern Right Whales feed on Plankton which thrives in the South Pole (Antarctica), while the Humpbacks feed on Krill (a kind of fish found in various locations in our great seas). This is why the Southern Right Whales follow a trend called the “Feast and Fast” feeding pattern. They feed from October to May and fast from June to October. S***m whales principally feed on squid that is only obtainable at the sea bed and they rely on an instict called ECO-LOCATION to catch there prey . Baleens or Plates

The name Baleens is derived from the soft long teeth of the Southern Right Whales. They are about 1.5 km long and are not designed for chewing. What happens is that the whale swallows a lot of sea water together with Plankton (micro organism), and then it would push all the water through the plates of the baleens thereby leaving the food in the mouth. Plates were used for ornaments and bags during the whaling era. There rich oil reserves called blubber was used for lighting during the pre- industrial revolution era . Southern Right Whales

These animals were almost exterminated by open boat whalers between 1790 to 1825 (approximately 12,000 whales were killed). They increase at 7% per annum (this means the population doubles every 10 years)
They are individually recognizable from patterns of callosities on their heads. There calves grow at about 3cm per day and feed on almost 600 litres of milk per day while suckling. They were the first of the largest whales to be protected (in 1935), in fact a whale called WENDY used to visit the walker bay during those years. White calves amount to 4 percent of all calves born each year. These calves eventually turn grey as adults. They swim at speeds of between 0.5 and 4km/h reaching top speeds of about 17 km/h. They dive to maximum depths of about 300 m. There life span is unknown but is presumed to exceed 50 years

Field Identification

The southern right whales have a kind of blow that is ‘v’ shape in nature [up to 3 m long]
, while the humpbacks and the brydes whales have a single blow which extends for about 3 m
And forms a cloud as it diminishes. The flippers of the humpbacks have white spots or distinct white colours which are longer than those of the southern right whales. The various blows of the whales are just but one form of identification, the other distinct ones are the CALLOSITIES [southern right whales] , and these heavily confined patches of skin are a characteristic feature of these whales and form different patterns on each individual thus providing a useful form of identification. The southern rights display 5 distinct ways of behavior and they are as follows;
BREACHING
Possibly a communicative function also probably assist in the moulting process and removal of parasites. Southern rights breach repetitively [ even up to 10 times], and seagulls are often associated with breaching whales . LOBTAILING
Probably a form of communication . Often seen between mothers and calves . SPYHOPPING
Whales probably have good eyesight above water. Spy hopping occurs when whales are curious
SAILING
Possibly a form of temperature control. Also suggested as using the wind on the tail surface to push its body through the water
MATING
A number of whales attempt to mate with a single female. She may take evasive action by fleeing into shallow water or by rolling onto her back. Mating is brief and each of the males may mate with the female. The southern right whale was so- named because it was considered to be the ‘right’ whale to catch. As it was so rich in oil and baleen [the large food filter plates which hang from the roof of its mouth] plus the fact that it floated in the water when killed, this slow- moving leviathan became one of the most ruthlessly hunted of all species of the whales. LARGEST WHALE
The blue whale is the heaviest and longest animal on earth; they have a body weight of 90-120 tones. The blue whale is equivalent to 30 elephants in weight. The Southern Right whale is equivalent to 14 elephants in weight. TALLEST BLOW
The tallest blow belongs to the blue whale where blows up to 12m [39ft] have been reported. LARGEST APPETITE
A blue whale eats up to 4 tones of krill per day. DEEPEST DIVE
The s***m whale is believed to dive deeper than any other cetacean. They have been known to dive as deep as 200m [65ft]. HEAVIEST BRAIN
The brain of a s***m whale can weigh up to 9kg. This compares with the average 1.4kg brain of an adult human. LONGEST SONG
Male Humpback whales sing the longest and most complex songs in the animal kingdom. Each song lasts for half an hour or more and consists of several main components. These songs can be heard under water several hundreds, or even thousand, of miles away. LONGEST MIGRATION
Humpback whales have the longest migration of any known mammal. A population that feeds off the Antarctica peninsular has now been found off Columbia, just north of the equator. This is a one-way migration of 5000 miles. WHAT TO KNOW
Whales and dolphins do not sleep like we do, but they rest on the surface of the sea or catnap for a few moments while they are swimming. Each side of the brain takes its turn to ‘switch; of while the other half stays vigilant and keeps the animal breathing. When whales and dolphins open their eyes underwater, special greasy tears protect them from stinging salt. The dorsal fin, which is on most cetaceans, is used to stabilize the animal as it swims through water. The heart of a blue whale is the size of a small car and a small child can stand in the arteries leading from the heart.