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Rising!

Lifted by a gentle Atlantic Ocean swell, this Humpback Whale is one of hundreds that make the journey from the Antartic to the Southern tip of Africa to spend their summer months of November to March just off the Western Coast of South Africa. Their tails slow lift and rhythmic breathing indicate they are preparing for a dive and the massive appendage that has propelled them vast distances now pushes them down to the depths in search of the krill and bait fish that they made the journey for. Our fascination and excitement at observing, hearing and smelling whales displays an innocent delight that belies the not so distant dark past. The strong emotional bond I see that people form and carry makes me wonder how we ever allowed the desecration to continue for as long as it did.

Rising whale populations mean that larger numbers make this journey year on year and we are fortunate to be witnessing this exciting development in Cape Town. Coming back from a history of commercial exploitation on an industrial scale, whales are now protected and make a valuable contribution to tourism and wildlife experiences across the globe. It is an amazing story of hope and overcoming for these gentle sentient giants.

Harnessing the power of technology, facial recognition software and the ever increasing numbers of citizen scientists, they are being photographed and uploaded onto a website where they are classified, identified and added to a global data base using their unique tail markings. The data is available and it is possible for both scientists and participants to monitor whales returning year on year and is a source of tremendous excitement and goodwill as whales successfully make it back to our shores. It has been determined that Humpback populations are growing at 7-10% per annum and this means we are seeing them in areas previously not always associated with whales.

Sitting quietly on a boat, taking it all in, contemplating the far flung journeys they undertake and the cycle of their lives, it really is such an uplifting experience to be in their presence as they carry on oblivious of the stir they create.