Adopt-a-Whale
In order to obtain the much-needed funds for our research, we offer symbolic adoptions of our best known southern right whales.
By joining the Adopt-a-Whale community you will help to protect these beautiful creatures.
The target is to raise R 24,000 per whale per year.
Packages include full adoption and co-adoption.
Full adoption is for individuals and companies that want to fully support a whale for a year by reaching the target of R24 000 per year.
What you’ll receive as a token of thanks:
- Your logo next to the whale you’ve adopted
- Your logo displayed on the supporters’ page of our website
- An official adoption certificate and profile of your whale
- An information brochure on southern right whales and our research
- An annual newsletter with special mention of your whale
- The chance to win a whale-watching experience
- An 18A tax receipt
- Our whale picture of the year
Co-adoption is for individuals and companies that want to pledge monthly support for a whale or make a once-off contribution.
What you’ll receive as a token of thanks:
- An official co-adoption certificate and profile of your whale
- An information brochure on southern right whales and our research
- Acknowledgement of support on our website
- An annual newsletter
- The chance to win a whale-watching experience
- An 18A tax receipt
- Our whale picture of the year
Blanca
Blanca is one of the very few brindle females in the South African population. This means that she was born white and is turning more and more grey with age. 94% of brindles are male, so Blanca’s colouring makes her very rare. She was first seen with a brindle calf in 1984 and has since had nine more calves. There’s a gap in her calving history which indicates that she may have had a miscarriage late in her 2015 pregnancy, or that her calf died soon after birth. Blanca favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are Arniston, De Hoop, Klipkoppie, Koppie Allen, St Sebastian Bay and Struisbaai.
Thembe
Thembe is the daughter of the 3rd southern right whale to be identified in South African waters. She has a beautiful colouration pattern which includes extra white blazes against her partial-grey colour. She had her first calf when she was six years’ old - which is relatively young. After her first calf, she wasn’t seen with another for eight years. This suggests that she may have had at least one miscarriage or a delayed pregnancy, which is not surprising given her young age. She has since had four calves which indicates that she is healthy. Thembe’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are De Hoop and Walker Bay.
Ghost
Ghost is the only male in our adoption programme. He has a distinctive ghost-like white blaze on his back which is how he got his name. True to form, Ghost isn’t often seen along the South African coast. Since his birth, he’s only been seen five times by our research team. This doesn’t mean that he’s not visiting. As a male, it’s most likely that he heads back south before the females and that’s why we don’t get to see much of him. Nonetheless, Ghost stands out, so when he’s around he will almost certainly be spotted. Ghost’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are De Hoop and Walker Bay.
Granny
Granny is our most senior whale – believed to be over 50 years of age. She has given birth to ten calves since 1981 which indicates that she’s healthy and strong. She’s the mother of one of our other adoptive whales – V – who has since become a mother herself. On two occasions Granny was seen with a new calf in the same area as V and her calf. This means that she was swimming with two of her daughters and her grandchild at the same time. Granny’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are De Hoop, St Sebastian Bay and Walker Bay.
Fluke
Fluke was first seen with a calf in Walker Bay. She has since gone on to have another two calves. Besides the unique callosity pattern on her head, Fluke is also easy to recognize from the shape of her tail which is missing both tail points. It is unsure what caused this, but it could be related to a shark or killer whale attack. Fortunately, her missing tail points don’t affect her mobility or chances of survival. Fluke’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are De Hoop, Walker Bay and Struisbaai.
Maggie
Maggie has a small grey marking on her back and is pretty unique in that she was the first female southern right whale to ever be identified in South African waters. Over the years, she’s had ten calves in various bays along the South African coast. Overall, Maggie has had normal three year calving intervals which tell us that she is healthy. Maggie’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are Arniston, De Hoop, Plettenberg Bay, St Sebastian Bay and Stilbaai.
Lucca
Lucca is a partial-grey female with a beautiful colour pattern on her back which was white when she was born. She has at least eight siblings from the same mother. She was seen for the first time with a beautiful brindle male calf in 1999. Since then, Lucca has had five more calves at regular intervals which indicates that she is a healthy female. Lucca’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are Arniston, De Hoop, Franskraal, St Helena Bay, Struisbaai and Walker Bay.
V
V is Granny’s daughter and was first seen close after her birth in 1981. She has a very distinctive V-shaped patch on her back. This was white when she was born but turned grey as she matured. She had her first calf in 1987 and has had six more since then. Given her good health, we are hopeful that she will go on to have more babies in the future. V’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are Arniston, De Hoop and St Sebastian Bay.
Splash
Splash is V’s granddaughter and Granny’s great-granddaughter! She was first seen with her mother very soon after being born in 1995. Apart from her callosity pattern, she is recognizable from a grey marking on her back which was white when she was born. Splash had her first calf in 2007 and has since gone on to have another two babies. Splash’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are Arniston, De Hoop and St Sebastian Bay.
Fully Adopted Whales
Emma has been fully adopted by:
| ID: | 83/02A |
| Gender: | Female |
| First sighting: | 1983 |
Emma has a partial-grey colour with a stunning white blaze. Her beautiful markings make her visually very distinct from other southern right whales.
Since she was first seen with a calf in 1983, Emma has had at least ten more calves. Most of her children have inherited her colouring and they will in turn pass it down the family tree.
Some of Emma’s calves are now adults, which means that Emma is a grandmother, or possibly even a great-grandmother.
Emma’s favourite cruising spots along the South African coast are Agulhas, De Hoop, Quoin Point, Rooiels and Walker Bay.