In this video we explore the world of whale and dolphin communication. They use sound in extraordinary ways — from the powerful clicks of sperm whales, reaching over 230 decibels, to the unique, individual whistles of bottlenose dolphins. While many of these sounds are used for echolocation, helping them navigate and hunt, some researchers believe they could also serve as a form of complex language.
The African penguin is being starved to extinction. Commercial fishing has reduced fish stocks around the only remaining African Penguin colonies to such an extent that the birds cannot find enough fish to eat during their breeding season. Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, SANCOB is taking the South African government to court to try and force them to expand no-take zones around the colonies as part of their campaign to save the species.
An outbreak of rabies among seals in South Africa has prompted the South African public health authority NICD to issue a warning.
17 Cape Fur Seal off Cape Town, South Africa have been confirmed with rabies. It is the first ever documented rabies outbreak in a marine mammal.
Every year we're seeing more and more turtle stranding partially because of an increase in awareness but also because there are more extreme weather events, there are more storms there are more extreme temperature changes and strong winds probably a consequence of changing weather systems, more extreme weather systems that are indicative of climate change and all of those things for us lead to increase strandings.
Marine Biologist, Dr Tessa Hempson and film-maker, Grant Brokensha, were part of a recent Manta Ray tagging expedition off the South African coast. Mantas have an incredible 20 million years of evolution behind them, and we are just beginning to uncover their secrets and appreciate their remarkable intelligence. Both from personal observations and scientific research, there is compelling evidence that these creatures that have an unusually large brain in proportion to their size, are in fact highly intelligent beings
Maybe an odd job even for the accomplished South African free diver Nick Filmalter, but he became an essential part of ensuring the safety of our divers during the shooting of a documentary about the Sardine Run, in South Africa. He was the guy chasing away the sharks which became more interested in the crew than the sardines!
The disappearance of Great White Sharks from False Bay, South Africa, attributed to various factors including predation by orcas, human activities such as longlining fishing targeting their prey, and the resulting decline in the shark population. The Shark Spotters team, responsible for monitoring the bay's waters, confirms the absence of Great Whites since 2019 and points to orcas as a contributing factor.
Kwanele Mbatha makes a living by subsistence fishing and guiding tourists along South Africa’s Wild Coast but this fragile ecosystem faces the threat of overfishing, damage from oil and gas exploration, mining and many other human activities.
It’s one of the planet’s largest biomass aggregations…an annual migration of sardines up the coast of South Africa. Millions, if not billions, of small fish migrate up the east coast pursued by sharks, whales and dolphins. And at the very end of this chase - humans.
Across the world scientists and biologists are studying a huge variety of dedicated and intricate subjects: jellyfish proteins; fish intelligence and whether octopus dream. On the other side of the coin are the naturalists
I was really happy with my task, staying on the surface. I truly wanted to snorkel with dolphins, but the sharks made me hesitate. Finally, Joel convinced me to join him. It was so cool to see everything from below, and I finally got to snorkel with dolphins! But it was the whales that made this day unforgettable.
In the midst of the chaos of sardines, dolphins, birds and sharks there appeared a lonesome Humpback whale. She seemed not to be concerned with the frenzy which ensued around her but rather quite intrigued by the shoal of sardines which seeked refuse under her enormous shadow.
The play unfolds right in front of my camera - my breathing rate is high. Nick and Kimmo are with me. We spread out so as not to ruin each other's shots. Nick was supposed to be our "safety diver," but we don't have time for that now. He has to film too. When the opportunity arises, we must seize it!
South Africa has an incredibly rich diversity of sharks, representing nearly a quarter of all known species, some found nowhere else on the planet.
iSimangaliso Wetland Park in South Africa is home to one of the world's most pristine reef systems, home to hundreds of different species from rare fish to tiny seahorses...and hundreds of cleaning stations where fish come in for their daily cleaning sessions. Petro van Jaarsveld who is currently conducting her PhD studies on these fascinating stations takes us on a tour inside the surprisingly complex and beautiful world of a fish car wash...
The Migration of mega shoals of sardine up the east coast of South Africa has been called the greatest shoal on earth. The wild coast on the east coast of
