WATCH: Whales visit Cape Town for pre-Christmas feast

28 November 2016 - 14:12 By TMG Digital
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Image: Kieran Donnelly

For millions of workers across the country, Monday morning means nothing more than the start of another week at the office.

But just a stone's throw away - at least if you're in Cape Town - there's a whole other world that carries on as if work doesn't exist.

Drone pilot Kieran Donnelly gives us a glimpse of that world with a stunning video, shot on Saturday off Sea Point, of a pod of at what he said was "at least 60" humpback whales migrating south.

According to Oceansafrica.com, southern ocean stocks of humpback whales feed almost exclusively on krill near the polar regions.

Sightings in South Africa are not unusual from June to January as the whales migrate up the east coast to calve and mate in the waters off Mozambique and Madagascar.

Although humpback whales appear not to feed when in tropical waters, it is believed they may feed opportunistically on the journey back to Antarctic regions.

"During this period the whales are merely passing our coastline but we often find them offshore in small groups (of up to 10 animals) or singly and with calves," says Oceansafrica.

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