facts

Facts on Southern Elephant seals

There are a few different species of seals that can be found along the South African coastline. Most commonly seen is the Cape fur seal , but Sub Antarctic fur seals , Leopard seals and Southern Elephant seals are also spotted. There are two types of elephant seals, the Northern (Mirounga angustirostris) and Southern (Mirounga READ MORE

Facts about Nudibranchs.

Nudibranchs are soft bodied, marine molluscs that shed their shells after their larval stage. They normally have extraordinary colouration patterns and prominent forms. The word nudibranch comes from the Latin word nudus meaning ‘naked’ and the Greek word brankhia that means ‘gills’. More than 3,000 species of nudibranchs have been described worldwide. Nudibranchs can occur READ MORE

Facts on Pansy shells.

When walking on the beach in Plettenberg Bay different kinds of shells from marine animals can be found like Cuttlefish bones, mussels, clams and the most attractive of all, the pansy shell (Echinodiscus bisperforatus). The pansy shell is an icon for Plettenberg Bay and is the symbol for the Bitou Municipality. Even though they are READ MORE

Facts on Common dolphins.

Off Southern Africa two species of common dolphin can be found, long-beaked (Delphinus capensis) and short-beaked (Delphinus delphis). Until fairly recently, both were considered to be the same species with great variation in appearance, but due to many years of research, are now treated as separate species. The home ranges of the two species over-lap, READ MORE

Facts on Bottlenose Dolphins.

There are three dolphin species seen in Plettenberg Bay on a regular basis. They are Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), Humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and Common dolphins (Delphinus sp). The species seen most frequently is the Bottlenose dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins got the name from their short beak and can grow up to 2.5m in length and READ MORE

Facts on Bluebottles

Summer has arrived and with it warmer weather and increased sea temperatures which attract more people to the beaches for a swim. When swimming and walking on the beach, look out for bluebottles or Portuguese man-o’-war (Physalia utriculus,). These strange organisms float in open waters of most oceans and are cast ashore after strong onshore READ MORE

Fact on Humpback Whales.

Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) can grow up to 15m in length and weigh between 30-40 tonnes making it the 5th largest whale. They are normally found migrating single or in small groups aggregating in their feeding and breeding grounds. Humpback whales can live to 60 years or older. They are grey/black on their dorsal and READ MORE

Facts on Loggerhead Turtles.

Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta) are found in tropical waters all over the world. Loggerhead Turtles are a part of the marine reptile family (Cheloniidae) and got their name from their exceptionally large head with a heavy, strong jaw. Loggerhead Turtles carapace (back) is reddish-brown in color and heart-shaped with large non-overlapping scales. They have short, READ MORE

Facts on African Penguins

In South Africa there is one penguin specie that lives and breed along the shore line called the African Penguin (Spheiscus demersus). The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome), Northern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes c. moseleyi) and Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) can also be seen in South African waters on rare occasions. African READ MORE