Results tagged “western cape” on Earth Touch Blog
The week’s most viewed stories May 23 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 16 May to Thursday 22 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Tags: africa, black rhino, blue, botswana, cub, dolphin, elephant, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, sodwana bay, south africa, western cape, whale, wildebeest, youngCormorants roost on shipwreck May 21 2008
As the sun began to set at Melkbosstrand on the West Coast of South Africa, close to Cape Town, the Earth-Touch crew filmed cormorants flying in to roost on an old shipwreck.
Tags: africa, bird, blyde canyon, botswana, cape cormorant, cormorant, darter, okavango delta, reed cormorant, south africa, western cape, white-breasted cormorantThe week’s most viewed stories May 16 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 09 May to Thursday 15 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Tags: africa, black rhino, blue, botswana, cub, dolphin, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, sodwana bay, south africa, western cape, whale, youngThe week’s most viewed stories May 9 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 02 May to Thursday 08 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Unusual reef is full of surprises
It’s a special day at Sodwana, as the Indian Ocean offers up everything from coral and shrimps to dolphins and the world’s largest fish.
Tags: africa, black rhino, botswana, cub, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, south africa, western cape, whale, youngThe week’s most viewed stories May 2 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 25 April to Thursday 1 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Huge beast shows why it’s one of the most feared and respected creatures in the African bushveld.
Tags: africa, black rhino, botswana, cub, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, south africa, western cape, whale, youngThe Earth-Touch baby album Apr 30 2008
Over the months, Earth-Touch has been privileged to witness the early days, survival struggles and playful moments of many young animals. Here is a selection of these video clips.
Tags: africa, baboon, baby, bath, bird, botswana, burrow, calf, cape, chick, coast, colony, cub, delta, den, dog, egg, elephant, endangered, fish, fly, foal, giraffe, herd, hluhluwe, imfolozi, juvenile, karoo, kite, kwazulu-natal, lion, mammal, meerkat, monkey, moremi, mud, okavango, piglet, reef, sodwana, south africa, thailand, tree, trunk, video, warthog, water, western cape, whale, young, zebraThe week’s most viewed stories Apr 25 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 18 April to Thursday 24 April 2008) were:
The week’s most viewed stories Apr 11 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 05 April to Thursday 10 April 2008) were:
Snorkelling with great white sharks Apr 7 2008
Scuba diving in clean, cold water at Struisbaai, on South Africa’s Western Cape coast, the Earth-Touch crew were enjoying watching some lively fish activity.
Tags: africa, fish, great white, marine, ocean, scuba, shark, snorkel, south africa, struisbaai, western capeGreat white shark’s hunting kit Apr 3 2008
The great white shark senses what’s going on around it using its eyesight, special cells along its lateral line, and sensory cells on its nose, called ampullae of Lorenzini, which detect electrical fields.
Tags: africa, camouflage, coast, colour, fish, great white, marine, predator, prey, reef, sense, shark, sight, smell, south africa, struisbaai, swim, vertebrate, western capeDark clouds and great whites Mar 25 2008
A blanket of apprehension lay over the day’s divers – the crew from Earth-Touch and a few British tourists. There were dark storm clouds making their way towards the area we were going to try to find the great white sharks, and the surface of the sea was windswept, with white caps dotted across the ocean surface.
The boats were loaded, and soon we were pounding our way to Skip Skop, an area 7km (4mi) off the coast, with a ferocious reputation for great whites (Carcharodon carcharias). As we sped from the base, the excitement seemed to drain from the faces with every kilometre we travelled.
Tags: adrenaline, animal, bait, bite, camera, coast, colour, eye, female, fin, fish, great white, green, jaw, nerves, ocean, power, sea, shark, skip skop, south africa, speed, storm, swim, tail, visibility, water, western cape, white, windThe week’s most viewed stories (March 14 to 20 2008) Mar 21 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 14 March to Thursday 20 March 2008) were:
Number 1
Close encounter with a leviathan
Stingrays jostle for food Mar 20 2008
When an Earth-Touch crew recently visited Skip Skop, a dive site on South Africa’s south-west coast, they witnessed a tussle between two short-tail stingrays (Dasyatis brevicaudata).
November 2007 newsletter Nov 19 2007
View the Earth-Touch April newsletter by clicking here: April 2008 Earth-Touch Newsletter
Tags: 2007, communication, kalahari desert, kelp, kwazulu-natal, newsletter, november, plant, south africa, western cape, whaleDid you know? African penguins Nov 14 2007
The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is the only species of penguin found in Africa. These aquatic birds are now vulnerable to extinction, with about 56000 breeding pairs left in the world. It is believed that there were 1.5-million penguins on Dassen Island alone (about halfway between Table Bay and Saldanha Bay, on the west coast of South Africa) at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Penguins are known to adapt to very cold climates, but the African penguin is adapted to survive in the temperate climate of Africa. To cope with the heat, African penguins are active at breeding sites during the cooler hours of early morning and evening and spend much of the day in the sea.
Did you know? Sunfish Nov 7 2007
Sunfish (Mola mola) are disc-shaped fish found in tropical and temperate seas, at depths of up to 360m (1 200ft).
Nearer the surface of the water they often drift on their sides.
The week’s most viewed stories Nov 2 2007
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 26 October to Thursday 01 November 2007) were:
Number 1
Even though the pride of lions now includes six adults, the risk of taking on a large herd of buffalo in broad daylight is still too high.
Liquid motion Nov 1 2007
On land they tend to look like convulsing potatoes, but “liquid motion” is the way Earth-Touch crew member Graeme Duane describes how seals move underwater.
Hartlaub’s gulls on stormy sea Oct 31 2007
As the wind blows and the cold, stormy weather moves in, Hartlaub’s gulls are seen on the coastline at Walker Bay, Western Cape, South Africa, in the Earth-Touch clip, Wind howls in from the Atlantic.
Because of the harsh weather, the Earth-Touch crew were unable to see much at sea and a day of whale watching ultimately turned into a day of bird and flower viewing.
Southern right whales easily identified Oct 30 2007
The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is found in the Southern Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.
The Earth-Touch film crew has been watching these whales on the Western Cape coast of South Africa.
Tags: africa, atlantic ocean, barnacle, hunt, indian ocean, pacific ocean, south africa, southern right whale, western cape, whale, whale liceHaving a whale of a time Oct 26 2007
Earth-Touch has served some spectacular footage of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off the south-eastern coast of South Africa in the past few weeks.
The whales come to these waters every year to calve, and have become so well known, South Africans now sometimes refer to the ‘Big Six’ (lion, rhino, elephant, leopard, buffalo and now whale) as must-see animals.
Tags: calve, fluke, head, power, sail, south africa, southern right whale, tail, western cape, whaleThis week’s most viewed stories Oct 26 2007
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 19 October to Thursday 25 October 2007) were:
Number 1
The water around Geyser Rock is full of Cape fur seals, a favourite meal for the great white sharks in this area.
Did you know? How whales sleep Oct 23 2007
Whales do not sleep like humans and other mammals do. They do not go into a deep sleep and do not have regular sleeping patterns linked to periods of the day or night.
This week’s most viewed stories Oct 19 2007
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 12 October to Thursday 18 October 2007) were:
Number 1
A mother whale wallows gracefully among the rocks close to the shore while her calf, a smaller and clumsier version of herself, ducks and dives nearby.
Feast for the African black oystercatchers Oct 18 2007
Rough seas provide lots of feeding opportunities for the African black oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) as well as other seabirds, as seen in the Earth-Touch clip, Waves clean out rocky inlets.
Did you know? Seals Oct 18 2007
There are 33 seal species and they are found only in cold waters or warmer seas that have colder currents washing into them.
At ease with sea creatures Oct 16 2007
One of the fantastic things you can experience working underwater with a camera, holding your breath, is a feeling of affinity with other big creatures in the sea.
Did You Know? Hermit crabs borrow shells Oct 12 2007
Hermit crabs live in the cast-off shells of other creatures. The abdomen of these crabs is soft and twisted, an adaptation enabling them to fit into shells.
Blowing hard: Wind and whales Oct 12 2007
Working as a videographer in the whale season can be quite difficult or quite easy, depending on where you are and the conditions in your chosen location.
Earth-Touch goes whale watching Oct 2 2007
Our diving crew, Graeme Duane and Barry Skinstad, has been cruising about in the waters around Cape Infanta off the southern coast of South Africa, filming southern right whales
This week’s most viewed stories Sep 28 2007
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 21 September to Thursday 27 September 2007) were:
Number 1
As it gets hotter on the edges of the Makgadikgadi Pans, so does it get busier around this waterhole. A group of six elephant bulls came running towards the water as their thirst intensified. Animals compete fiercely for water in Botswana’s arid Kalahari desert because it’s a scarce resource.
Whales: how close is too close? Sep 26 2007
By Graeme Duane, field crew
In preparing for our whale expedition to the Western Cape, South Africa, Barry Skinstad and I looked into the laws and ethics relating to approaching whales. Apart from proposed new laws, the existing restriction is that a boat may not get closer to a whale than 300m (328yd). Though it’s difficult to measure that distance while out at sea, it’s clear that you’re not to disturb any cetaceans (whales, dolphins or porpoises) while you’re on the water.
Tags: dolphin, hermanus, mossel bay, south africa, southern right whale, sunfish, western cape, whale, witsandDid you know? - Springbok Sep 6 2007
Springbok are famous for their ‘pronking’, when they jump high in the air, with their feet together and their heads pointed down. Sometimes these pronks can be 2 to 3m (7 to 10 feet) into the air.
Did you know? Cape gannet Sep 4 2007
Cape gannets live around the coast of Africa, and breed on only six islands in Southern Africa. They are known for spectacularly diving to spear fish, and for their unusual looks, with their streamlined bodies, yellow heads, pointed beaks and blue-ringed eyes.
Did you know? - Great white sharks Aug 29 2007
The scientific name for the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, translates directly to “jagged-toothed one”.
Floral welcoming Aug 28 2007
During the weeks of spring the harsh, sandy desert of Namaqualand is transformed into a sea of yellow, white and orange flowers in bloom. This is a sign of the approaching summer and the end of winter’s cold.
Out on a limb … Aug 23 2007
By Graeme Duane, field crew
This is a photo of the way we film sharks at Earth-Touch. As you can see there’s not much in it, no cage, no SCUBA and no bait.
So the shark gets to do pretty much what it wants, and the diver just has to concentrate on not looking too delectable. Seriously, though, we are cautious and careful and this is actually a very controlled situation.
Tags: bait, cape town, dyer island, great white shark, human, scuba, south africa, western capePage 1 of 1 pages
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