First published 25 Nov 2022 3 PM; revised 26 Nov 2022 after the whale washed up at The Strand.
At 8.30 AM on 25 Nov 2022 I photographed from shore a dead Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) floating about 2-3 km offshore from Steenbras River Mouth (on Clarence Drive south of Gordon’s Bay). I later heard that it had washed up in front of the Indoor Swimming Pool at The Strand at around 3 PM the same day, so over about 6 hours it seems to have moved 9 to 10 km. On 26 Nov at 7 AM I went to The Strand and photographed it before its removal by city officials.
The images on the 25 Nov were taken with a 500 mm lens and cropped further. This record is also posted on iNaturalist here. I did not find any online reports on this carcass and reported it to The Environmental Resource Management Department, Cape Town (contact details below). It was a 15-meter long male that apparently died of old age; there were no obvious signs of entanglement. At the time I saw the Humpback I was photographing a Bryde’s Whale (Balaenoptera brydei) about 200 m offshore.
One of the onlookers had asked me which end was the head. I replied that it was the end without the penis. She was somewhat surprised and then laughed saying that she had thought that was its horn.
My contact details: paulcarter @ pacapix.com
Whale carcasses should be reported to The Environmental Resource Management Department (Cape Town) – as posted at learntodivetoday: “We would like to try and get to whale carcasses well before they wash ashore on our coastline to deal with them more effectively and efficiently. As ocean users, if you come across a whale carcass floating anywhere in False Bay or from Cape Point north to Silwerstroom Strand we would be most grateful if you could call, whatsapp or sms 083 940 8143 (available 24/7) with an approximate location and time of sighting“.
A news24 report on this whale can be found here.