Even though whales have been spotted from land, on Saturday afternoon we were thrilled to have our first close encounter on two Southern Right whales at Keurbooms River Mouth. When the Southern Right whales leave the Antarctic waters for the warmer Atlantic and Indian Ocean waters they want to shed their skin. They do so READ MORE
What’s a marine protected area (MPA)? Are all MPA’s the same? Do they actually work? The definition of a protected area from IUCN is: ‘a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values’. A marine READ MORE
The first humpback whales have been seen in the Plettenberg Bay area. They are on their migration up north towards the breeding ground in Madagascar. The whales that pass early through our bay are normally the males that want to get to the breeding ground first and wait for the females. After them comes the READ MORE
With our (ORCA Foundation and Ocean Blue crew) next visit to the Siyakula pre-school our lesson will be about animals and where on earth they live. It teaches them the English names of the animals and where the countries are on the map compared to South Africa. Having volunteers and township tour guests coming from READ MORE
How long does animals live? This is a hard question to answer, since it depends on which aspect we are talking about. Is it how long most of them live or how long they can live? We also need to compare living in the wild or captivity. Just like humans live to different ages, so READ MORE
Bottlenose dolphins that play along the beach line are sometimes predictable in their behaviour. When a set of big waves comes in towards the beach they will surf in on them and breach out the back of the wave. This is a stunning sight, every time.
Since last week one of the Elephant seals is back at the Robberg seal colony. The elephant seals come into the bay a few times a year. Why do they come in? The one in the middle of the year is hard to tell, it seems like it is there to rest, but it could READ MORE
Bioluminescence is a production and emission of light created by a living organism. It is a hybrid word coming from Greek and Latin. Bios means living and Lumen means light, so bioluminescence means living light. It is widely known in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, but it’s also found in fungi, microorganisms and terrestrial invertebrates. On READ MORE
When doing a township tour with Ocean Blue the money goes towards the township, especially the Siyakula pre-school and nursery school. It helps to keep up maintenance of the school, pay teachers salaries and feed the children. The children get 2 meals a day, breakfast and lunch. On Thursdays when the ORCA Foundation and Ocean READ MORE
Camouflage is a word used for animals in nature and humans in the military, when they are disguised. What does it mean to have camouflage? It is the use of any combination of materials, coloration or illumination for concealment. This has become one of the largest games between predator and prey. The prey will do READ MORE