GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The two prime suspects in last week's shark predation by a group of 16 killer whales at Gansbaai, 'Port' and 'Starboard', have visited Plettenberg Bay in the past.
Dr Gwenith Penry, marine mammal scientist attached to Nelson Mandela University, said the visit by 16 killer whales to Plettenberg Bay on Wednesday 22 March was unusual because of the size of the group.
"Encountering such a large group is a very special sighting," said Penry.
She said it was not possible to tell if it was the same group responsible for the Gansbaai shark predations, reported by CBS News, because those animals were not seen or photographed during the attacks.
CBS reported that up to 20 sharks were found dead near Gansbaai after a "surgical feeding frenzy" on 6 March. Penry told Knysna-Plett Herald the general thinking is that 'Port' and 'Starboard', the two killer whales with the flopped over dorsal fins, are the prime suspects.
"However, killer whales are highly adaptable, so it is possible that the ones seen in the bay here may also occasionally prey on sharks or rays. Typically they are known to target dolphins," said Penry. While it is unsure if this was the same group that visited Gansbaai, the size of the Plett group was the same as recorded at Gansbaai.
Special Plett visit
The visit to Plett on Wednesday 22 March caused excitement for a group of foreign tourists on an Ocean Safaris sightseeing cruise. Skipper Ash Baartman was lucky to be close by to witness the spectacle and enable the tourists to get up close and personal with the creatures.
"I'm really sure they were feeding on shark, because the birds that surrounded them picked up chunks out of the water as the orcas were staying down for quite a while," Baartman said. Thanks to the skill of Ash and Ocean Safaris owner Marlon Baartman, the tourists from Britain and Germany were treated to the experience of a lifetime, getting up close to these magnificent sea animals.
"They'll all be smiling when they come off the boat," said Marlon, who monitored and directed the sightseers from his vantage point at the lookout point on Plett's Signal Hill. The group of tourists were indeed all smiles and commended Ash.
Basic predators
In 2015 the two killer whales were named after the two sides of a ship, because their dorsal fins tilt either to the left (port side) or to the right (starboard side). Port and Starboard were spotted in August last year, also swimming in the bay. Penry said killer whales are basic predators.
"They work in a very tight social groups and work together on big hunts, depending on what's available in the habitat. They are opportunistic and can be coastal or occur in off-shore waters along the continental shelf too." She said in terms of the timing there is not really a season for their presence.
"The ones that occur off the SA coastline are called transient killer whales. There are many around the world. They are resident in Vancouver, Canada as well as Norway. As transient killer whales they travel long distances and individuals seen off the SA coast are also seen in Namibia. They are primarily mammal hunters going for dolphins and whales."
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