Southern right whales off the coast of South Africa. The Hermanus Whale Festival starts today.
© oversnap/E+/Getty Image
Tail end of a migration. Southern right whales sail home to South Africa
Each year during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter and early spring months (June through November), southern right whales migrate from the far Southern Ocean near Antarctica to the coast of South Africa to mate and calve. Their tendency to swim in shallow waters near the shore—and their curiosity around boats—delight tourists here, making the town of Hermanus, South Africa, an international whale-watching hot spot. The town even employs its own ‘whale crier,‘ who sounds a horn when a sighting is made. Today marks the start of the Hermanus Whale Festival, a celebration of these mighty migrants.
Related Images
At the top of Mount Fuji in Japan
Louis Armstrong performs with bandmates in Vienna, Austria, on February 22, 1959
Policewomen from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti attend a ceremony to mark International Women's Day in 2016
Street art from the Pasadena Chalk Festival 2013, California
Jim Henson, along with Ernie and Bert, rehearses for an episode of 'Sesame Street' in 1970 in New York City
For Black History Month, Step Afrika! dancers rehearse
The installation 'Waldplastik' during Blue Night in Nuremberg, German
Alphorn musicians perform during the International Alphorn Festival in Nendaz, Switzerland
Bing Today Images
Town of Pienza in Tuscany, Italy
Sep 28, 2025
Container ship near a commercial port in Thailand
Sep 28, 2023
A. M. Foster Bridge in Cabot, Vermont
Sep 28, 2022
Mount Fuji in Japan
Sep 28, 2021
