CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) – A South African couple found themselves in a rare situation when they witnessed a humpback whale “supergroup” of nearly 300 of the giant marine mammals gathering together.
It’s an indication, scientists say, of how the numbers of some whale species have rebounded strongly in the Southern Hemisphere’s oceans decades after the international ban on whaling went into effect in 1986.
Chris and Monique Fallows said they were used to seeing increasingly large groups of humpback whales off the west coast of South Africa, but they were not prepared for what they saw one morning last December. Plumes of whale breath and spray burst into the air one after the other from the blow holes, and the husband and wife found their boat in the middle of what is known as a supergroup.
“It was incredible,” said Chris Fallows, a renowned wildlife photographer who has been documenting marine animals for 35 years. “Very quickly we realized that there must be several hundred whales congregated in a certain area.”
He said what they saw could best be described as a “Manhattan skyline” of whale breathing plumes.
Chris and Monique documented 299 humpback whales in the group, they said. They count whales by taking a picture of their tail, which is called a shot, said Monique Fallows, an author and naturalist.
Each whale’s tail is different and is a common tactic used by scientists to identify individuals.
It appears to be the largest group of humpback whales seen, according to Alex Vogel, Africa coordinator for Happywhale. This organization has a global database of whales built from photos and information submitted mainly by what it calls “citizen scientists” – ordinary people who capture images of whales that are then verified.
The organization took a count of the group Fallows faced.
According to estimates by scientists and the International Whaling Commission, which monitors whale numbers, humpback numbers have recovered strongly in the Southern Hemisphere from less than 10,000 at the peak of whaling to more than 100,000 whales now.
Only a few countries still hunt whales commercially.
Lumpies are generally solitary or move in small pods, but sometimes congregate in supergroups in food-rich areas. They feed on krill or small fish.
Humpback sightings are also increasing in other parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
Els Vermeulen, chief scientist at the University of Pretoria’s Whale Unit in South Africa, said humpback supergroups began to be seen again around 2012 and were likely the result of their recovery from whaling.
“Overall, the whaling moratorium can be classified as one of the strongest conservation success stories in the marine environment,” said Vermeulen, who has a doctorate in zoology.
Vermeulen said humpbacks feeding in supergroups make underwater sounds that attract other whales.
While humpbacks have seen the biggest rebound from whaling, the World Wildlife Fund says recovery has been mixed for other whale species and that various threats remain, such as entanglement in commercial fishing gear, ship collisions and climate change.
Seven of the 14 large whale species are classified as endangered or vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, which number only about 380 now. Vermeulen also raised a new threat to whales around South Africa: conflict in the Middle East.
She said a recent preliminary estimate she co-authored showed shipping around Africa’s southern tip had quadrupled since December 2023 — after the Israel-Hamas war broke out and Yemen’s Houthi rebels began attacking ships in the Red Sea.
This is being exacerbated by the war in Iran and the security crisis over the Strait of Hormuz, diverting more ships around Africa.
Because most whales killed by ships sink in the ocean, there are no detailed statistics. But Gregg Oelofse, the coastal and environmental manager for the City of Cape Town, said more whales and more shipping clearly increase the risk.
He said that some whale carcasses wash ashore with evidence that they have been killed by ships.
“We’re going to see the propeller hit through the whale’s body quite often,” Oelofse said. “So it’s like these big incisions in the whale’s body.”
Vermeulen said she and others are lobbying for official speed limits for ships near the South African coast to give them time to spot any whales in their path. Associated Press writer Gerald Imray contributed to this story. By NEIL SHAW Associated Press
Subscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing arguments provides the latest on ongoing trials, major litigation and decisions in courts around the US and the world, while monthly Under the lights feeds legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
