Bernabé Blaauw took this picture of a dead Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that washed up on the shore at Langstrand on Monday. The young animal must have died while at sea. It is always a sad sight to see one of the giants of the deep ending up this way. It is a privilege and a thrilling experience to watch these highly intelligent and docile beasts frolicking and breaching (throwing two thirds or more of their bodies out of the water and splashing down on their backs) off our coast. Fully grown, the males average 15 to 16 metres but the females are slightly larger at 16 to 17 metres and can weigh up to 40 000 kilograms. Humpback whales grow between 45 and a 100-years-old. Humpbacks were hunted heavily in the past until there were only around 5 000 left in 1966 when the International Whaling Commission banned commercial Humpback whaling. The ban is still in force but their numbers have increased to at least 80 000 worldwide today.