The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board has urged people to keep calm after residents voiced concerns about humpback whales swimming too close to the shores in Amanzimtoti and surrounding areas this week.
Residents were frantic when they saw the whales and assumed they were in distress.
However, head of department for operations at the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Sharks Board, Wayne Harrison, calmed the fears of residents.
He said the country is in the height of whale season and humpback whales and their calves are migrating along the shore.
“There have been numerous reports from residents that the whales are possibly entangled, dead, or drowning, in distress, washing up and this is what the concerns have been about. We want to assure the public that they should not panic. This is absolutely normal,” said Mr Harrison.
“What has transpired is that the members of the public have been able to view these whales. The whales are resting. You have got to remember they cover the longest migration known to man. Coming up from the Antarctic over our winter period, heading up through the equator to Mozambique. This is where they will go to mate, and the following year, they will go to that type of area to calf.”
Mr Harrison said the humpback whale gestation is one year, and this “takes a lot out of the animals”.
The water that the females have come from is icy cold, and we have warmer waters. The mother needs to rest and feed her calf, he added.
At this time of the year, the whales are often seen with their calves – they use our waters for calving and rearing their young, Mr Harrison said. They make an annual visit and often come too close to the shores.
“Every year, between June and December, whales can be seen, and there is an increase in shark activity because of this. Most calls from the residents were coming in from Warner and Winklespruit beaches,” said Mr Harrison.
