During wintertime, people tend to think the coastline gets a bit dull with activity because nature tends to slow down, but one spectacle that comes around is the sightings of all the different whale species that travel the coastline.

One very common traveller seen along the coast is the Southern right whale. They are often seen in St Sebastian Bay, Witsand, "the" nursery of the whales in South Africa.

Southern right whales belong to the Cetacea family, which includes all whales, dolphins and porpoises. These whales do have teeth, well more bristles then teeth, because they fall under baleen whales. The Southern right whale makes up one of three species within the right whale family and all three species are endangered.

Physical characteristics and appearance

As they reach maturity, they can grow to be up to 18 meters in length and weigh up to 80 tons with their head comprising of a quarter of the whole body. Interestingly, the Southern right whale lacks a dorsal fin. With a lifespan of up to 100 years the southern right whale is one of the longest living species of Cetacea.

When it comes to dentation these marine mammals (as with all baleen whales) lack the presence of teeth but are equipped with baleen plates that have bristles attached to them which allow these whales to filter their prey from the water as they swim through the ocean. The primary diet of Southern right whales consists of copepods, krill, mysids and plankton among other tiny crustaceans. These whales are skimmers and can be seen swimming at or near the surface of the water when hunting for food. On occasion they will also dive into deep waters as well in search of prey. They hunt their prey by swimming with their mouth open and trapping their prey in their baleen bristles while also filtering water out of their mouth.

Due to their thick layer of blubber the Southern right whale never crosses over the equator into the northern hemisphere because their body is unable to handle the extreme heat.

Social structure and communication

Southern Right Whales are a fairly active species that can be seen breaching and performing in the sea. They are very social animals amongst themselves and with other species. It’s this playful nature that creates the curiosity with vessels and boats to observe the people and boats. When interacting with humans or other animals these marine mammals appear to be thoughtful and aware of their large size and strength, which limits their activity and behaviour when around humans. This just insures no harm comes to the smaller marine animals, boats and people.

When it comes to impressing the ladies, these whales do not typically fight with one another or show any signs of jealousy when it comes to mating but rather act as gentlemen. These whales are polygamous where one male whale can have up to seven female partners.

Protection status

The total population is estimated to be around 10,000. Since hunting ceased, stocks are estimated to have grown by 7% a year. It appears that the South American, South African and Australasian groups intermix very little if at all, because maternal fidelity to feeding and calving habitats is very strong. The mother also passes these choices to her calves.

These whales have been known to face many threats as they live in the open sea. Threats may include being hit by passing ships or large vessels in highly commercial areas, potential health hazards from chemical and plastic pollution which can affect their food supply or harm the whale directly, aquatic constructions such as sewage plants, aquatic mining and ocean-based oil refineries that can negatively impact the whale’s ecosystem and environment and numerous other issues from agricultural changes to global warming.