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Safari Sto Gran Tour

Cape Cross, the seal colony

Cape Cross is one of the must-see stops on a trip to Namibia, and this time not for the breathtaking scenery, but for its marine residents. Let us tell you a little more...


CAPE CROSS, THE SEAL COLONY


At Cape Cross there is a stone cross that, in 1486, marked the arrival of the Portuguese in Africa. And do you know who was there waiting for Diego Cão, the Portuguese explorer? Some sweet, smelly seals!

In this town on the coast, you can still find the largest seal colony in Southern Africa. With nearly 100,000 individuals, these beaches are home to a lazy, chubby, friendly animal that, if male and overweight, can weigh around 300 kg.
Usually, it is the females that take care of the young, and together with their pups they fill the area, barking and singing all day long.

Seals do not migrate because they are too fat. The males, however, roam the Atlantic to fish, and with a very good excuse they slip away from beach life, full of buckets and spades. After being away for several months, when a male returns he forgets which female was his mate, so he impregnates another one and heads back out to sea. Not so silly, that “beachmaster.”

Life at Cape Cross is pretty good: the area is protected by the Namibian government, and apart from a few jackals, everyone lives happily enough. Seals have always been an important source of resources, for meat, skins, and oil. Today, hunting is allowed only in small quantities and is regulated to monitor the colony’s population. This is because seals eat tons of fish, greedy and plump as they are, and so some are culled to help balance the ecosystem.
Who knows if that’s really the whole story.

In the meantime, cover your nose, mouth, and hair: a killer smell is waiting for you!

As we said at the beginning of this article, Cape Cross is an unmissable stop on a trip to Namibia. We’re stopping by. And you can stop by with us too. Take a look at our NAMIBIA ADVENTURE TRIP!

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