Tag: Southern Right whale

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Our behaviour may be still pushing the Northern right whale to extinction – entanglements may use as much energy as rearing all young

The Northern right whale was hunted to the brink of extinction – with less than 500 left when hunting ended. To put this in perspective, only 300 Southern right whales were left when hunting stopped, it is thought that there are now 3000-4000 Southern right whales.

Now, it is true that historically the Southern right whale is thought to have numbered as 55,000-70,000 individuals, suggesting that the current population is 3-5% of historic numbers.

However, the current estimate for the Northern right whale population is 386. While has the Southern right whale population grown over 1000%, and in the same time, the northern right whale population declined?

What is different?

Continue reading “Our behaviour may be still pushing the Northern right whale to extinction – entanglements may use as much energy as rearing all young”

Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises family tree

Cetaceans -Whales, porpoise and dolphins

Few people can avoid stopping to watch, if they spot cetaceans from a cliff. While the family is wide and varied, they are all pretty interesting. From some of the largest and most intelligent hunters such as killer whales to the largest animal on earth the blue whale.

Whale and dolphin watching tourism is worth a lot of money – this can be essential, as in many places the extra money helps a community survive. 

I hope, overtime, to make this section of the website as large a list of places to view cetaceans and people who will help you in that quest.

As might perhaps be suspected, all of the mammal species which have returned permanently to the sea, and developed breathing holes located on their back (and therefore perfectly placed for taking quick breaths) are  related.

So what is the most closely related living land mammal? Perhaps obviously, it is a species which spends much time in the water – the hippopotamus.

As with all of these pages, as we create pages for each individual species, they will be linked to the photo below.

So the baleen whales are split into three families, these are not large as there are only 16 species of baleen whales in the world. At the current time, there are roughly 1.1 million baleen whales in the worlds oceans

Below is a family tree of the group

 

Baleen Whales

Baleenideae – the rhight whales

 

The first  living split is Baleenidae, this family is not huge. The north atlantic and north pacific are closest related, these species are closely related to the Southern pacific right whales. Their name is unfortunate – it is called right whale for 3 reasons, it swims slowly, floats when dead and carries a large amount of oil. This lead to all these species being hunted close to extinction.

North Atlantic right whale
North pacific right whale
Southern right whale
Bowhead whale

The other family is called Balaenopteroidea. Here species peel off slowly. I will list them in the order that they split.

The first split is the minke whale – of which there are 2 species, the common and southern minke whale, with the grey whale being the next most similar.

Brydes whale
Antarctic (Southern) Minke Whale
Grey whale
Common minke whale
Sei whale mother and calf Christin Khan NOAA

The next are the humpback whale and the fin whale followed by the Blue whale.

Underwater humpback whale jd forester
fin whale by Amila Tennakoon
Blue whale, taken by Australian Antarctic program

The last group of whales are from a group called the Brydes whales complex

Brydes whale
Edens whale
Omuras whale
Rice whale
Sei whale mother and calf Christin Khan NOAA

This completes the list of baleen whales. The other branch of the Cetaceans is known as the toothed whales

Toothed Whale

.I am going to look at them in 3 groups, though the third is not particularly closely related to each other

  • Delphinoidea: This includes
    • Monodontidaes – Belugas and narwhals
    • Phocoenidae – The family of Porpoises (7 species) such as harbour porpoises and Vanquita

 

bermeister porpoises
dalls porpoise Susan E Adams
Harbour Porpoise
Indo pacific (or east Asian) finless porpoise
Spectacled porpoise
Vaquita
Narrow Ridged finless porpoise (Yangtze finless porpoise by huangdan2060)
    • Delphininidae – these are the oceanic dolphins – 37 species split into several subfamilies which we will deal with one by one.
Subfamily Delphininae – 15 species (tamanend bottle nose dolphin only recognized as separate species, will build page for it at some point when photos are readily available.

Subfamily  Globcephalinae 11 species

Australian snubfin dolphin
False killerwhale by Adam U
Long-finned pilot whale nu Gailhampshire
Rough toothed dolphin
Melon-headed Dolphin
Pygmy killer whale
Irrawaddy Dophin
Short-finned pilot whale by Martina Nolte
Risso’s dolphin

Subfamily incerta sedis (latin for “of uncertain placement” )6 species

Atlantic White-sided Dolphin
Dusky dolphin by AllenMoC
Hourglass dolphin
Pacific white sided dolphin by NMFS southwest fisheries science center
Peales dolphin by fDrummondH
White beaked dolphin

Subfamily Lissodelphininae 6 sppecies

Black dolphins by Bobbyandck
Commerson's dolphin by Tonina1
Haviside dolphin by Joachim Huber
Hector dolphin by Avenue
Northern right whale dolphin
Southern right whale dolphin

Subfamily Orcininae

Orca by Robert Pittman NOAA
  • Inioidea : This includes 3 groups
    • Iniidae (only 1 of 5 genus remains -Inea (4 species: Araguaian river dolphin, Bolivian river dolphin  and Orinoco dolphin)
Amazon river dolphin by Oceancetaceen sometimes known as the Orinoco
Araguaian river dolphin by Rio Cicica
Bolivian river dolphin by Ramon and Suzanne Vargas
    • Lipotidae: which contains only one species: the Baiji or Chinese river dolphin
  • Pontoporiidae: which contains one species 
La plata dolpin

The next family is the beaked whales. There are 24 species, of which only 3-4 have been well studied. This is because they spend much of their time deep in the sea, it appears that each species does not have many members and they are incredibly reclusive in their habits.

One might ask how an air breathing animal can spend so much of its time deep in the ocean? Well the Curved beaked whale has had a dive timed at 138 minutes. More incredible, they only need around 2 minutes to catch their breathe before sinking back into the depths. This means that if required, they can spend just 20 minutes out of 24 hours at the surface – an incredible stunt.

There appear to be a great number of species that are extinct – these we will not list, but will mention each subfamily in passing.

Incertae sedis contains 5 extinct genus, Basal forms include 13 extinct genus

Subfamily Berardiinae contains 3 genus, 2 of which are extinct, but the third contains 3 living species (and one dead) .  

Genus Beradius

 

Arnoux's beaked whale
Baird beaked whale
Sato beaked whale

Next we cover the Bottlenose whales

Northern                                                                                                                     Southern and                                                        Tropical

northern bottlenose whale
Southern bottlenose whale
Tropical bottlenose whale

Subfamily Ziphiinae  contains 5 genus, 3 are extinct, but two have just one species in each

Genus Tasmacetus: Shepherds beaked whale Genus Ziphius: Cuviers beaked whale

Click on the image to see it in full

The most populous genus Mesoplodon – mesoplodont whales

As you can see, many of the pictures are of dead whales, or skulls or diagrams, or even just text. This is because sightings of many species are so rare that they have never had a photo taken

As you can see from the whale family tree, the sperm whales are separate from the rest. However, they are toothed whales so belong in this section of the page.

pygmy sperm whale
Sperm-whale-by-Gabriel-Barathieu
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    Hermanus in Walker Bay, east of Cape town

    Hermanaus

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    Hermanus is one of the worlds best places to watch whales from the land, and therefore is well worth some time if you are visiting the Cape of South Africa.

    Sitting on the beach watching the whales play in the bay is an experience that long stays in the memory. Generally the whales (in this instance Souhtern right whales) are present from June to December, though on occasion they do appear as early as April. However, the whales are not the only thing to enjoy in Hermanus.

    We currently have one area for people to stay in Hermanus though it is rather special. 

    With a variety of flowers and birds found within the reserve and in the surrounding area, and whales and sharks viewable from the coast, this stay can be nature packed.

    You can also simply spend time on the reserve and enjoy the beach.

    A variety of activities including kayaking, biking, quad biking and shark cage diving (all sorts of marine wildlife can be seen on these trips) can also be undertaken. Boating and kayaking is also available

    Beyond the border of the reserve, there are caves to explore and more beaches to visit among many activities.

    There are two places to stay within the reserve, Mosaic lagoon house consisting of a family suite and a suite for a couple, and the Perivola house a 4 bedroom place for the sole use of one group at a time.

    Mosaic lagoon lodge consists of a family suite (couple plus 2 small childre) and a luxury couples suite
    Perivoli Lagoon House, a 4 bedroom house for the exclusive use of one group at a time. Space for everyone to enjoy the reserve

    Mosaic Lagoon Lodge

    Mosaic Lagoon Lodge

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    The Walker bay nature reserve has an incredible range of wild flowers, and is a fantastic birding location, with a wide range of south african birds present across the year.

    With its wildlife not including the big 5 this is a more hands on safari destination. It is a perfect place for a family to come and explore what wildlife you can find. There is also 3km frontage onto the Hermanus Lagoon

    Mosaic lodge is a luxurious place to stay within the reserve.  with only 5 suites available it will never feel crowded.For the ultimate private getaway, LAGOON LODGE captures the essence of tranquillity  scattered through an ancient milkwood grove. A pampered stay here is all-inclusive of meals, adventure activities and house beverages/wine/beer/spirits. Relaxing massage, skin and nail treatments can be indulged in at the Mosaic Rain Spa (either indoor or outdoor), using organic Rain Africa products (additional charges apply). The 5 suites include both double or twin depending on the need, and a family suite for a couple with 2 children. These suites are spread through an ancient Milkwood grove (beautiful trees, but also shading the suites keeping them cool). Spa treatments are availabile  (though some may incur an additional expense)

    After a touch of bird watching from a secluded veranda, head down the boardwalks under a canopy of trees to the heated plunge pool overlooking the mountains and lagoon, where favourite water birds can be spotted. Drinks and meals are shared outdoors or in the dining room by a fireplace that will warm one’s soul.W

     

    Activities at Mosaic include being immersed in awesome fynbos flowers and bird-life of the Cape Floral Kingdom, lagoon cruises, stunning beaches, fascinating marine life and some of the world’s most beautiful wine lands. This is topped off with warm smiling staff serving fresh cuisine paired with delicious South African wine. Mosaic is also centrally located to whale watching, marine tours, shark cage diving and exploring the Overberg Wine Region, and the perfect location for nature and activity lovers.

    Fascinating water birds are all around, and you can simply sit and watch from the comfort of your suites veranda.

    Food is also spectacular. With a chef, baker and gardener you can expect delicious food prepared fresh, often from ingredients grown within a few miles of the lodge, all paired with wonderful local wines. The cuisine at Mosaic is fresh, delicious and the creative mastery of our team and local producers is easy to see. Breakfast is a hearty fare with freshly baked muffins, homemade jams, fresh fruit and a hot meal.  Lunch is served gourmet picnic style outdoors or around blazing fires when there is a chill in the air. Sumptuous dinners are prepared by the chef and built around organic vegetables from the garden and local seasonal ingredients…and best paired with fine South African wine from the Mosaic cellar!

    And as evening falls, exquisite colours of the sun setting over the lagoon and the glorious expanse of the star-filled South African sky are witnessed.

    Depending on the weather, meals can be had indoors beside a roaring fire, or outside watching the sunset, and enjoying the stars.

    Both includes:

    All-inclusive of all meals, welcome drink, house beverages/wine/beer/spirit, prices lie below the form

    Family suite
    Couples Suite

    If you have an questions or are interested in visiting (or indeed would like to check availability), please fill out the form below

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