Every year, the west coast of South Africa becomes a busy marine highway for humpback whales. Some of these whales are travelling past on long migrations, while others stop to feed along the way. And among them are the famous “super-groups”(large gatherings of 20 or more whales feeding in close proximity to each other). These incredible events have been seen in the area almost every year since 2011.
In November 2025, our colleagues from the Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit, University of Pretoria, returned to this coastline for a dedicated research expedition. Over three weeks, our team headed out to sea to learn more about these whales and what brings them here.
The expedition began with the deployment of satellite tags – devices that can track whale movements over long distances. Six tags were successfully attached, allowing us to follow the whales as they migrate and feed. More information on this can be found here: https://www.mammalresearchinstitute.science/whale-unit.
With that accomplished, they expanded the focus of the activities to include other types of information, aiming to build a more complete picture of the whales using this habitat. Across five days on the water, 13 humpback whale groups were approached. Eight of these were large gatherings of more than 20 whales, though this time they were more loosely spread rather than feeding tightly together. Still, the scale of these groups was remarkable. The team collected biopsy samples (tiny skin-and-fat samples), fluke pictures for photo-identification, drone footage, faecal samples, and samples of zooplankton – that form prey items for the whales in this area.
Together, these samples and observations will help researchers answer important questions – such as which whale populations are present, where they travel to, what they are eating, how large they are, and even whether they are male or female.
Each expedition adds a new piece to the puzzle. And with every season of fieldwork, a little more about how humpback whales use this coastline is known, which can contribute to the protection of the species.
