Whale Watching in Tanzania
A unique opportunity to observe these gentle giants in their natural habitat...
For most species of Tanzanian whales and dolphins, including those found in the Marine Protected Areas, little is known about the sizes of populations, their distributions and movement patterns, or the locations of any key habitats. However sightings have shown that humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) are the most common species found in the waters off the coast of Tanzania. Other species found are Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus), Rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanesis), Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) and Spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata).
Deep Sea Fishing Zanzibar is one of the few operators that offers whale watching activities in Tanzania. Dolphin and whale watching has the potential to provide a regular and sustainable income to local communities while helping them to protect them and to support education and conservation.
In Swahili dolphins are called pomboo and whales are called nyangumi.
Timing your trip
Humpback whales pass by on their migration route along the Zanzibar coast between July and the end of September each year. Come and see them on an organised whale-watching trip or as part of your deep sea fishing activities around the coast of Tanzania. You can also plan your fishing safari so that you coincide with the whale shark (the largest fish in the world) migration that passes Mafia Island between November and April.
Humpback Whale
Did you know?
- The Swahili name for Humpback Whale is Chongowe
- Humpbacks produce the longest and most varied songs in the animal world. These are intricate fabrics of sound, ranging from pure high-frequency whistles to low and resonant rumbles which can even be heard above the surface. The songs only occur during the mating season, so it is supposed that the song is used for courting.
- Also interesting is the fact that a whale's unique song slowly evolves over a period of years —never returning to the same sequence of notes even after decades.
- The black and white markings on the underside of humpback whale tails are all unique. This enables researchers to tell the whales apart by taking pictures of the tail which is lifted clear of the water when the whale dives.
Sperm Whale
Did you know?
- The Swahili name for Sperm Whale is Nyangumi kichwa kikubwa
- The Sperm Whales head, particularly in males, is typically one-third of the animal's length.
- The brain of the Sperm Whale is the largest and heaviest known of any modern or extinct animal. However, the brain is not large relative to body size.
- The whale was named after the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in its head. It was the Spermaceti oil which was saught when these animals were hunted extensivly in the 18th and 19th centuries.
- The Sperm Whale is recorded to be the loudest of all living creatures ("about as loud as a rifle shot 1 metre from your ear")
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