source: http://www.visitmosselbay.co.za/media-releases/pygmy-sperm-whales-stranded-near-mossel-bay/

The discovery of two stranded pygmy sperm whales on a beach near Mossel Bay has once again highlighted the importance of the area to marine mammals.

Fransmanshoek Conservancy ranger, Roland Scholtz, said that the pair – a 2.62 metre long adult and a 1.63 metre long calf – were discovered on Saturday, September 17th.

“They probably beached themselves on Friday evening or early on Saturday, but they were dead by the time they were found,” he said.

He immediately reported the find to Mike Meyer, the Chief Oceanographic Research Technician at Marine and Coastal Management, who asked him to collect skin samples and to photograph and measure the animals. “One of Mike’s colleagues will be coming up in the next few days to collect further data, and possibly to do a dissection,” said Mr. Scholtz.

“It’s an interesting coincidence that another pygmy sperm whale beached itself near St. Helena Bay on Monday of this week.

“These whales occur in most oceans of the world, but most of what we know about them comes from stranded specimens like these.

“There are very few sightings at sea,” he said.Fred Orban, a founder member of the Fransmanshoek Conservancy – which lies to the west of Mossel Bay – said that he has personally assisted in the rescue or attempted rescue of three stranded pygmy sperm whales on the Conservancy’s beaches.

“The last one was three or four years ago: it was a cow-calf pair, but the calf had already died. With the help of some local residents, we returned the cow to the water and my daughter and I swam with her out beyond the breakers.

“Unfortunately, the animal returned three times to the beach, and after an hour in the water we were too tired to continue, and she eventually died.

“In the other cases, though, there was no calf involved, and we managed to save the whales.

“As many of the strandings around the world involve cow-calf pairs, it seems obvious that the cows want to be with their babies,” he said.

Mossel Bay Cetacean Project manager and M.Sc. student Bridget James, who has been observing marine mammals in the Mossel Bay area since the beginning of March on behalf of the Mammal Research Institute of the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria and a locally based private institution, Oceans Research, said that pygmy sperm whales are only rarely sighted at sea.

She said, though, that Mossel Bay is still attracting various species of migratory whale, even though it’s quite late in the season.

“On Monday we saw two humpback whales, and three southern right whale pairs – including two cow-calf pairs – as well as a number of dolphins.”

Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm said that the area is ideal for whale watching because the wide, shallow bays (Mossel Bay and Vlees Bay) offer the protection the animals need during mating and calving.

“One of Mossel Bay’s best whale watching spots is the Khoi San cave at Cape St. Blaize – just under the lighthouse – where man has been watching the sea for at least seventy thousand years,” she said.