UP Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit

First southern right whale count of 2024!

 

On Friday 16 August 2024, we flew our first aerial survey to count the #southernrightwhale along our coast. With the help of Jean Tresfon and funded by The Bateleurs we were able to fly the coastline between Hermanus and Witsand, the area known to cover some of the main nursery areas for right whales along our coast.

 

During the flight, we counted 265 females with calves (530 right whales). Of these, 131 were in front of the coast of @De Hoop Collection Nature Reserve.

 

The graph shows this count of females with calves on these August surveys since 2017 (blue bars) and how these numbers compare to the total number of females with calves we count during our official helicopter-based October survey which we fly each year between Nature’s Valley and Muizenberg to photograph all the whales for identification purposes.

 

As you can see, although our spotting flight may not have a perfect methodology, it gives a good indication on what the official count will be early October.

 

We wish to deeply thank The Bateleurs for funding this flight, and Grootbos Private Nature Reserve as well as Denel Overberg Test Range for accommodating us again.