PEOPLE were excited when they saw a humpback whale being transported on the streets of Cape Town on Sunday, 17 November.
According to the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Hout Bay station commander Spencer Oldham, the huge whale carcass had washed ashore at Slangkop Lighthouse in Kommetjie.
It was loaded onto a truck by officials on Sunday morning and removed from the beach. Several residents were shocked by the whale’s size as it was transported by truck.
“On Saturday, 16 November, at 9.11am, NSRI Hout Bay duty crew were activated to assist the City of Cape Town (CoCT) Marine Animal Stranding Network and the Department of Environment with a humpback whale carcass that was adrift offshore of Slangkop Lighthouse, Kommetjie.
“The NSRI rescue craft Albie Matthews and Nadine Gordimer were launched, and the whale carcass was towed by NSRI Hout Bay to the Hout Bay Harbour slipway where the carcass was removed on Sunday by the CoCT Solid Waste Management, assisted by CoCT Law Enforcement, the SA Police Services, and the Cape Town Traffic Department. A large pod of dolphins accompanied NSRI during the towing operation,” said Oldham.
Social media users who had a glimpse of the huge creature were amazed, as it was the first time many of them had seen such a sight.
The carcass was 14,8 metres in length and weighed about 35 000kg.
“This creature is huge; I used to see it in pictures, but today I have finally seen its size. It is very big,” said Lorraine Gumbo on social media after seeing it in Constantia.
Siyabonga Bukani from Philippi said that he saw the truck carrying the whale while he was on his way to church.
“It’s very big; it filled up a long trailer of a truck. When I saw it in videos, I thought it was something small, but it was probably the size of three elephants. I couldn’t believe that these creatures are that big,” he said.
Two other humpback whales were also found washed dead on 15 October and 8 November 2024.
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