Wildlife in Africa

By Jessica

Great White Sharks

Through the volunteering course that I signed up for, I managed to go face to face with a Great White Shark, and it did not disappoint. I was in Gansbaii, inside a shark cage on a boat in the ocean, and I was so worried about the damage that can be caused by the sharks. I was only in the cage for thirty seconds before the gates on top of the cage were closed because a shark had been spotted approaching the boat. The shark swam around the boat for around ten minutes before disappearing for the day. I was on the boat for about eleven days and saw Great White Sharks on six of those days which isn't a bad return at all.

Big Cats

I got the chance to go to an animal Sanctuary called Panthera and all the animals there were rescued in South Africa. There were tigers, lions, white lions, jaguars, leopards and caracals. They were all in good health, but some were in 'rehab' because they came back from Zoo's that were drugging them to be able to get photos and using them to make more money and for breeding programmes, where the newborns would be taken to a tourist attraction. My favourite were the tigers because they were huge! I'm really glad that I was able to see them because they were all close up and it was more intimate than a usual Zoo.

Stingrays, Bronze Whaler Sharks & Albino Sharks

I saw these on the boats every single day of my trip to South Africa, and the stingrays were huge which surprised me and the Bronze Whaler Sharks grow up to around 2.2m in length and I managed to learn so much during my time away about how the animals live and continue to survive. The Albino Sharks that I saw were very rare to see which was an amazing feeling.

Rock Hyrax & Seals

These animals were found in Hermanus, Cape Town and were seen everywhere in the wild. They were so small, and I really didn't expect to see them just roaming freely around and interacting with other animals. There was literally 60,000 seals in Shark Alley alone, I was able to seem them when I was on the boat very close up. They rarely left Shark Alley because only a few migrate out as it is really too dangerous for them.

Shy Sharks & Leopard Sharks

I saw the Shy Sharks on the sea bed when I was able to snorkel in Hermanus. I got the chance to tag a Shy Shark, as each Shark tagged gets their own number so that you can track their progression.

They were really smaller than I expected and didn't even look like sharks to me. They get their names by curling up when they are scared or when they feel threatened at all. Even though they are so small their muscles are so strong so you can't really unwrap them once they go into hiding.

Penguins

The penguins were seen at Betty's Bay in Gansbaii, as they are protected there because they are endangered in South Africa and are native. I saw them on the second day I was there and then when I was in Gansbaii there was a Penguin Sanctuary and they are nursed back to full health and released back into the wild.