Dave De Beer - Southern Right Whale

At the Hermanus Whale Festival - the only enviro arts festival in South Africa - I was quite impressed by the Marine Endangered Species Expo. I sadly found out about it later than I would have liked to, resulting in me missing a few interesting lectures. I thought my readers might like some of the information I gained at these lectures.

The first one I saw was given by Dave De Beer, and it was about the yearly migration of the Southern Right Whale. As a wild life photographer, he has passion for the whales here in Hermanus and has spent many years observing, and photographing them.

Mother and Calf 

During summer, the Southern Right Whale spends about six months in the seas near Antarctica  because of its abundance of food. It is during that time that they bulk up and prepare for the slow journey down to Hermanus and the Overberg area to give birth and take care of their young. During that time they do not eat at all. I would love to tell you what happens when a Southern Right Whale gives birth, but it has never been observed, so I can't. This is done with such secrecy; probably to protect the vulnerable calves. When the calf is born, it stays very close to its mother. Even if it swims away, the mother has certain call that reminds the calf that it is misbehaving and had better come back now. They suckle from their mother immediately. The mother does not lactate a milk like the land-loving mammals, but rather a thick paste, which does not dissolve in the water.

Southern Right Whale Breaching

The story of the Southern Right Whale reads like a Hollywood tearjerker. They got their name because they were the "right" whales to hunt. They stayed close to the shores while their calves were growing up; they had a high blubber content which made them float when you killed them, and they were inquisitive and would often swim to the boats. As you know, the mother never leaves her calf, which is very active on the surface during its infancy. So a whaler need only capture the much smaller calf, and then at their leisure, dispose of the mother. This went on with such proficiency that soon their numbers were recorded as low as three hundred. Due to conservation efforts, and by making South African waters safe for them, they are now estimated at sixteen thousand, with a population growth at about 7% a year. If they continue along this path, the seas might once again be teeming with these majestic creatures.

Told you they come close

Scientist have not come to a conclusion as to why the whales in Hermanus breach, and so often. They can breach as often as four times in a row. It makes sense then why Hermanus is renowned as a place to do some whale-watching. Dave De Beer has his theories about this. He believes that the mother first shows the young calf how to breach, then helps it do the same. The calf's breaching not only gives it exercises to strengthen its muscles, but provides the mother with a gauge with which to decide whether or not the calf is strong enough to make the journey back to Antarctica.

Bloody show off.

Just because the Southern Right Whale is doing so well, it does not mean we can rest on our laurels. I urge every one to do their part, no matter how small the effort or donation, to help protect our oceans. We no almost nothing about them, and hence can do irreparable harm in complete ignorance. Besides, we need the ocean a lot more than we think. Most of our oxygen comes from the ocean. Screw the rain forest (nor really I am just saying in a humorous fashion) and save our oceans