A remarkable gathering of nearly 300 humpback whales, described as a "supergroup," has been observed off the coast of South Africa, signaling a significant rebound in whale populations following a global hunting ban.
Chris and Monique Fallows, a South African couple, documented the immense congregation in December, witnessing what they described as a "Manhattan skyline" of whale exhalations. Their detailed count of 299 individuals was verified by Happywhale, an organization that maintains a global database of whale identification photos submitted by citizen scientists. Experts believe this may be the largest humpback supergroup ever sighted.
Scientists attribute the recovery of humpback numbers in the Southern Hemisphere to the international moratorium on whaling, which took effect in 1986. Whale populations have reportedly grown from fewer than 10,000 at the peak of whaling to over 100,000 today, according to assessments by the International Whaling Commission. Els Vermeulen, chief scientist at the University of Pretoria’s Whale Unit, noted that humpback supergroups began reappearing around 2012, a trend she links to their recovery.
While humpbacks have experienced a notable comeback, the recovery for other whale species has been mixed. Various threats persist, including entanglement in fishing gear, ship strikes, and climate change. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies seven out of 14 great whale species as endangered or vulnerable, with North Atlantic right whales being critically endangered with only about 380 individuals remaining.
A new and escalating threat has emerged for whales in the waters around South Africa: increased shipping traffic. Vermeulen’s preliminary research indicates that shipping around the southern tip of Africa has quadrupled since December 2023, a surge linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and attacks on ships in the Red Sea. This diversion has led to a significant increase in vessels navigating around Africa.
While precise statistics on ship strikes are difficult to obtain because whales often sink, Gregg Oelofse, coastal and environmental manager for Cape Town, confirmed that an increase in both whale and ship numbers directly correlates with a higher risk of collision. Some washed-up whale carcasses show clear evidence of propeller strikes.
Conservationists are advocating for official speed limits for ships in coastal waters to provide whales with more time to avoid potential collisions. The Associated Press contributed to this report.