Algoa Bay has a high concentration of dolphins, leading to the recent claim of being the Bottle Nose Dolphin Capital of the world.
It goes to show then that if we have a high concentration of dolphins then we will attract a high concentration of predators who prefer to snack on dolphins – Orcas. Orcas (Killer whales) are actually members of the dolphin family. Some feed exclusively on fish, while others hunt marine mammals such as seals and dolphins. They have been known to attack baleen whale calves, and even adult whales. As has been demonstrated by Rainer Schimpf, Killer whales are highly social and ‘care’ for the young and injured members of their pod.
BUT, we need to take cogniscance of the fact that we may be slowly poisoning our fellow mammals with a particular blight on our shoreline – Manganese Ore dust settling in the water and maybe affecting our fellow mammals – the Dolphins and Orcas. A further concern is that we have many filter feeders such as mussels and oysters which are ‘recycling’ the settled manganese or and dust which immediately makes one wary of eating these delicacies.
Manganese is a required trace mineral for all known living organisms, but too much of a good thing is a bad thing so it also acts as a neurotoxin in larger amounts. Especially through inhalation, it can cause manganism, a condition in mammals leading to neurological damage that is sometimes irreversible.
MyPE cannot find definitive studies linking excessive Manganese Ore Dust in the ocean and it’s effect on mammals such as dolphins and Orcas which, by their very presence, are attracting more boat based tourists to Algoa Bay, but has reached out to a few scientists asking for input.
The concern here is that we may be poisoning our tourist attractions and rendering boat based tourism dead in the water.
Related:
Killer Whales in Port Elizabeth
Face to Face with a Killer Whale
Killer Whales Support Handicapped
Disabled Orca becomes pod leader
Killer whales hunt seals
PE branded Bottle Nose Capital
Bottlenose Capital feauture in Country Life
Port Elizabeth – the Bottlenose Dolphin Capital of the World
Manganese Ore Must Go
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Alan Straton
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