Finally seen : a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa
Blue whales are rarely sighted off the coasts of South Africa due to their low numbers and offshore habitat preference. Visual observations to search for marine mammals were conducted onboard a platform of opportunity during the Integrated Ecosystems Programme survey in November 2019. A cow–calf pai...
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ftunivpretoria:oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/89025 2023-05-15T14:05:19+02:00 Finally seen : a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa Seakamela, S. Mduduzi Kotze, Pieter G.H. Gumede, Nosipho C. Sibiya, Natalia Shabangu, Fannie Welcome McCue, Steven A. 2022-12 https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89025 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03089-2 en eng Springer https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89025 Seakamela, S.M., Kotze, P.G.H., Gumede, N.C. et al. Finally seen: a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa. Polar Biology 45, 1715–1721 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03089-2. 0722-4060 (print) 1432-2056 (online) doi:10.1007/s00300-022-03089-2 © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. CC-BY Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Benguela ecosystem Cow–calf pair Occurrence Calving ground Rare sighting Article 2022 ftunivpretoria https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03089-2 2023-01-31T01:21:02Z Blue whales are rarely sighted off the coasts of South Africa due to their low numbers and offshore habitat preference. Visual observations to search for marine mammals were conducted onboard a platform of opportunity during the Integrated Ecosystems Programme survey in November 2019. A cow–calf pair of blue whales Balaenoptera musculus was sighted offshore Kleinzee (30°05′02.4" S, 14°24′53.2" E) at a water depth of 1670 m on the west coast of South Africa in the southern Benguela Current System. The pair was identified as Antarctic blue whales B. m. intermedia based on the size of the cow (~ 29 m), “torpedo-shaped” body of the cow, known distribution ranges and recent acoustic data showing that pygmy blue whales B. m. brevicauda do not occur in these waters. The calf was likely born in the Benguela ecosystem given its relatively small size. This is the first sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair in South African waters post whaling, indicating that animals might still use this area as a calving or nursing ground. Improved protection of this region in the low latitudes might benefit the recovery and conservation of the species. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. https://link.springer.com/journal/300 hj2023 Mammal Research Institute Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Polar Biology University of Pretoria: UPSpace Antarctic Polar Biology 45 12 1715 1721 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Pretoria: UPSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivpretoria |
language |
English |
topic |
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Benguela ecosystem Cow–calf pair Occurrence Calving ground Rare sighting |
spellingShingle |
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Benguela ecosystem Cow–calf pair Occurrence Calving ground Rare sighting Seakamela, S. Mduduzi Kotze, Pieter G.H. Gumede, Nosipho C. Sibiya, Natalia Shabangu, Fannie Welcome McCue, Steven A. Finally seen : a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa |
topic_facet |
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Benguela ecosystem Cow–calf pair Occurrence Calving ground Rare sighting |
description |
Blue whales are rarely sighted off the coasts of South Africa due to their low numbers and offshore habitat preference. Visual observations to search for marine mammals were conducted onboard a platform of opportunity during the Integrated Ecosystems Programme survey in November 2019. A cow–calf pair of blue whales Balaenoptera musculus was sighted offshore Kleinzee (30°05′02.4" S, 14°24′53.2" E) at a water depth of 1670 m on the west coast of South Africa in the southern Benguela Current System. The pair was identified as Antarctic blue whales B. m. intermedia based on the size of the cow (~ 29 m), “torpedo-shaped” body of the cow, known distribution ranges and recent acoustic data showing that pygmy blue whales B. m. brevicauda do not occur in these waters. The calf was likely born in the Benguela ecosystem given its relatively small size. This is the first sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair in South African waters post whaling, indicating that animals might still use this area as a calving or nursing ground. Improved protection of this region in the low latitudes might benefit the recovery and conservation of the species. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. https://link.springer.com/journal/300 hj2023 Mammal Research Institute |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Seakamela, S. Mduduzi Kotze, Pieter G.H. Gumede, Nosipho C. Sibiya, Natalia Shabangu, Fannie Welcome McCue, Steven A. |
author_facet |
Seakamela, S. Mduduzi Kotze, Pieter G.H. Gumede, Nosipho C. Sibiya, Natalia Shabangu, Fannie Welcome McCue, Steven A. |
author_sort |
Seakamela, S. Mduduzi |
title |
Finally seen : a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa |
title_short |
Finally seen : a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa |
title_full |
Finally seen : a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa |
title_fullStr |
Finally seen : a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa |
title_full_unstemmed |
Finally seen : a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa |
title_sort |
finally seen : a rare sighting of antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of south africa |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89025 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03089-2 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Polar Biology |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Polar Biology |
op_relation |
https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89025 Seakamela, S.M., Kotze, P.G.H., Gumede, N.C. et al. Finally seen: a rare sighting of Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pair off the west coast of South Africa. Polar Biology 45, 1715–1721 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03089-2. 0722-4060 (print) 1432-2056 (online) doi:10.1007/s00300-022-03089-2 |
op_rights |
© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03089-2 |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
1715 |
op_container_end_page |
1721 |
_version_ |
1766277134566817792 |