What to Expect of the Bryde’s Whale in South Africa
The Bryde’s Whale is present all year round but the chance of a sighting peak from September to May due to the increase of food. The best parts of South Africa to see them is mostly around False Bay, the Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal, where they have more than enough prey to feed on.
If you embark on a boat-based whale watching tour you will have the opportunity to spot these magnificent creatures usually only fleetingly and breaching while feeding on baitballs. They can reach swimming speeds as high as 28 to 37 kilometers per hour in short bursts.
Despite this creature’s elusive behaviour, they can also be spotted with other Bryde’s Whales or even ‘running’ with common dolphins. Their main reason for this is feeding since both species target small prey, and social interactions.
The Bryde’s Whale, also known as Balaenoptera edeni, is a fascinating and relatively elusive species of baleen whale that can be found along the coastlines of South Africa.
The Brydes Whale didn’t get its common name from any distinctive physical feature or even as a reference to where it can be found; this whale was named after a person. Johan Bryde was a businessman, ship owner, and whaler from Norway who built the first whaling stations in South Africa in the early 20th century. He discovered this species when he was setting up the whaling stations, so this magical whale was named after him. The scientific name comes from the Latin words Balaenoptera, meaning ‘whale with a fin’, and Edeni, which honours a British naturalist named Sir Ashley Eden.
The Bryde’s Whale has an expected lifespan of 50 to 70 years with the oldest recorded whale being 72 years old at the time of its death.
While the Bryde’s Whale is among the smaller baleen whales, they are still impressive in size. An adult will typically reach lengths of 12 to 16.5 meters, about the same size of a city bus. They also weigh between 16,500 to 25,000 kilograms. They have sleek, streamlined bodies that are built for speed, enabling them to swiftly navigate through the ocean.
Distribution and Migration
These creatures are commonly found along the South African coastline, mostly around False Bay, the Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. These areas provide the whales with rich feeding grounds due to the abundance of their preferred prey. The best timing for these animals to be spotted by South African whale enthusiasts is from September to May.
Unlike the other species of whales, Bryde’s Whales do not travel long distances between their feeding and breeding grounds. Thier migration is a lot more localized and contains less predictable movements, which are influenced by the availability of prey and changes in water temperature. They prefer to stick to the tropical waters, like that found in South Africa, because these waters are rich with the small schooling fish and other prey that make up their diet, encouraging the whales to linger and feed.
Breeding and Gestation
The Bryde’s Whale does not have a strictly defined breeding season, with mating and calving occurring throughout the year, with some peaks that may line up with periods where there is an abundant of prey available. The warmer tropical and subtropical waters, like the ones off the coast of South Africa, provide them with the ideal conditions for breeding.
Male Bryde’s Whales use a variety of behaviours to attract the females. The first is vocalization, where the male makes a range of sounds, including low-frequency moans, pulses, and songs which travel long distances to attract females and possibly chase other males away. Physical displays such as breaching and tail slapping. They also engage in close proximity or ‘escort’ and ‘shadowing’, where they remain close to the females, even following them around during breeding season. They also display competitive behaviours to win access to a female, which can include confrontations or displays of dominance.
Their gestation period goes on for approximately 11 to 12 months. The timing of the births is often aligned with the peak abundance of prey, so that the nursing mothers have ample food supply for themselves and their calves. Each calf measures about 3.4 to 4 meters at birth and can weigh up to 907.1 kilograms.
Feeding Habits
Bryde’s Whales are known for their unique feeding strategy called lunge feeding. This technique involves the whale surging through schools of fish with their mouths wide open engulfing large quantities of water and prey. Like other whales in the baleen family during this feeding process the water is expelled through their baleen plates, trapping the food inside.
Their primary food is small schools of fish such as sardines and anchovies, plankton, and even small crustaceans.
Common Traits
Unlike other whales that are usually social Bryde’s Whales are generally solitary creatures, but they can occasionally be seen in small groups when feeding. They are also known for their elusive behaviour, often diving to 304.8 meters for 5 to 15 minutes with a maximum of 20 minutes before resurfacing. This makes them somewhat challenging to for experts to study and observe consistently.
Conservation Status
These whales are currently classified as ‘Near Threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. This means that this species is close to qualifying for a threatened category. This species is facing certain threats such as habitat degradation, fishing activities, climate change, ship strikes, noise pollution, and non-responsible whale watching. Each of those threats can affect its population numbers if they are not managed properly.
Today the Bryde’s Whales total population is estimated to be around 90,000–100,000 worldwide.
