Image related to website content

Whale Festival Attracts Scores of People

14 Oct 2022

As reported last week, CapeNature took the opportunity to host an exhibition at the 31st Whale Festival held in Hermanus from 30 September to 2 October.

The exhibition focused on our marine protected areas, but also provided an opportunity for parents to subscribe their children to CapeNature’s Cubs Club in real time. CapeNature staff was on hand to share information on our eco-tourism offerings and our conservation efforts. The stand was also part of a wider treasure hunt, which saw families flock to our exhibition to unlock their clues. CapeNature also ran the #Don't be trashy drive and supplied all the bags and gloves for the clean and green team that worked as Whale Festival ambassadors keeping the town clean.

After a hiatus of two years following COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, it was refreshing to be part of a vibrant in-person interaction, which saw thousands of people per day lining the Hermanus Waterfront to see the gentle giants. And the guests of honour did not disappoint – a mob of whales were showing off their breaching skills leaving the crowds screaming with delight with every jump.

Share:

Related News

MPA Day Rocherpan 2
1 Aug 2025
Rocherpan clean-up kicks off MPA Day 2025 celebrations

CapeNature kicked off Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day celebrations with a community-driven beach clean-up at Rocherpan Nature Reserve on 31 July 2025. With school learners, volunteers, and the ever-popular Cubs Club mascot, Kai, lending a hand, all to highlight the link between marine and ocean protection and a public responsibility for conservation.

Franco Three Fountains Nature Reserve Image 1
30 Jul 2025
New nature reserve secures rare Cape Vernal Pools habitat

The Franco Three Fountains Nature Reserve is declared a protected area, marking a significant conservation turning point as the first and only reserve dedicated to safeguarding the rare and ecologically important Cape Vernal Pools (a rare and endangered type of seasonal wetland ecosystem found within the Greater Cape Floristic Region). This unique vegetation type, previously unrepresented across our conservation areas, now finds its largest protected expanse within the boundaries of this reserve.

Assegaaibosch Nature Reserve Outdoors
28 Jul 2025
Biodiversity crime often overlooked but its impact is devastating

Biodiversity crime is a growing and often overlooked threat that directly harms South Africa’s unique ecosystems. From the illegal plant trade in the Western Cape to poaching and even picking wildflowers in protected areas without a permit, these acts all contribute to the degradation of biodiversity and the loss of crucial natural resources.

Minister Anton Bredell at EPWP Event July 2025 1
22 Jul 2025
New EPWP intake launches careers in conservation and eco-tourism in the Western Cape

CapeNature has welcomed 475 new participants into a three-year Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) cycle, emphasising its commitment to skills development, conservation, and community upliftment across the province.

A small cohort of these participants, based at Kogelberg and Stony Point Nature Reserves, were officially welcomed at an event hosted at Kogelberg and led by Western Cape Provincial Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell.

Anysberg Nature Reserve copyright Scott N Ramsay www yearinthewild com 40
14 Jul 2025
How biodiversity crime threatens the Western Cape’s people, economy, and ecosystems

Biodiversity crime may sound like something intangible compared to other crimes encountered on a daily basis in our lives, but it is a very real and growing threat to our planet’s delicate ecosystems. It includes any illegal activity that harms plants, animals, or the ecosystems they depend on from high-profile crimes like rhino poaching to illegal plant trade in the Western Cape. It can even be something as simple as picking wildflowers in a nature reserve without permission or a permit.

Leopard
10 Jul 2025
Young leopard dies after being caught in gin traps near Heidelberg

CapeNature can confirm the death of a young leopard following a call to assist in a rescue operation on 2 July in the Heidelberg area, near the World Heritage Site of Boosmansbos.

Officials discovered a young 13 kg male leopard, estimated to be around six months old, ensnared in two gin traps set adjacent to each other. One front paw and one hind leg were caught. Despite the best efforts of the rescue team, the leopard did not survive.