Bronze whaler sharks are continuing to strand in worrying numbers off the Eastern Cape coast and videos of the big fish swimming in a disorientated way in river mouths and harbours and bashing into sand banks are doing the rounds.
Breezy Bay locals celebrated the New Year with the arrival of a rare elephant seal, which beached on the Wild Coast on Sunday. Nicknamed Neliswa, the young, 3m-long female seal had come ashore to moult, shedding her fur and skin, said Bayworld curator of the marine mammal collection Dr Greg Hofmeyr.
In rare occurrences, three crabeater seals, probably from Antarctica, washed up along SA’s coastline this year. While two may have become shark prey, their visits have been invaluable to marine researchers.