Southern right whale pigmentation patterns

SRW Pigment blog

Southern right whale pigmentation patterns Southern right whales are usually mostly black in colour and were often referred to as “black whales” by open-boat whalers. Most individuals also have a white blaze on their bellies, which can vary in size from a small spot to a large irregularly-shaped marking that may extend up the side […]

September research blog

17.1 Embryo of a twineyed skate 1

September research blog What a month September has been! We started off the month with our elasmobranch egg case collections at our three sites, with Nature’s Valley yielding over a whopping 1200 egg cases! We had finally gotten our backlog under control and now we are still busy processing just that one site’s haul! This […]

Cape Clawless Otter

Otter blog

Cape Clawless Otter It is not every day that one gets to glimpse the elusive Cape clawless otter (Aonyx capensis) as it goes about its daily life within many of South Africa’s freshwater systems. These otters belong to the Mustelid family, which includes carnivores such as weasels and badgers. The Cape clawless otter, also known […]

Cooperative feeding in cetaceans

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Cooperative feeding in cetaceans Cooperative feeding comes about when two or more individuals effectively capture more and/or bigger prey items and suffer fewer costs together than alone. A number of mammal species, and even one bird species has been reported to undertake cooperative hunting, which could range from simultaneous chases, or clearly coordinated attacks. Coordinated […]

Cetacean Sleep

sleeping sperm whales

Cetacean sleep Cetaceans, or whales and dolphins, have a pretty unique way of getting some shuteye. These marine mammals actually only rest one half of their brain at a time when sleeping, in what is known as unihemispheric slow-wave sleep. While one hemisphere of the brain rests, the other remains alert. The hemispheres are alternated […]

Endemic Red Roman

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Endemic red romans The red roman Chrysoblephus laticeps is a species of seabream endemic to southern Africa and found from Namibia to Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape. The red roman is a striking orange to red fish with a robust build, it has a defined white bar on the gill cover and a white saddle. […]

July research blog

15.1 A microplastic found in a hake

July research blog Exciting news for the elasmobranch egg case project! Oceans Research (http://www.oceans-research.com/) in Mossel Bay will be collaborating with us on this project, and will be starting monthly egg case collections at a site in Mossel Bay. This is a wonderful opportunity to partner with a fantastic research organization and investigate what egg […]

Demersal Shark Longlining

Demersal Shark Longlining Over the last month or so, some of Plettenberg Bay’s inhabitants may have noticed the occasional presence of a somewhat strange looking vessel within and around the bay. This vessel, it turns out, belongs to South Africa’s demersal shark longlining fishery. This fishery is relatively small, with only six permit-holders off the […]

June research blog

14.2 Cutting out the stomach of a hake

June research blog The elasmobranch egg case project continues business as usual, and while we continue to progress smoothly there are no great project updates! June has been a bird ringing deficient month unfortunately, with only one ringing session, but what a morning it was! While all birds are interesting, exciting, and special, as a […]