Southern right whales return to South Africa, drawing crowds to the coast

Southern right whales have drawn visitors to Hermanus in South Africa, where people gathered along the cliffs and at the annual whale festival to see the animals in Walker Bay.

The footage shows whales swimming near the coast, including a mother with her newborn calf, while visitors use binoculars and cameras to follow them from land and boats.

Between June and November, southern right whales migrate from Antarctica to the warmer waters off South Africa to give birth and raise their young.

Hermanus has become a popular place to see them, with a whale crier walking the 12-kilometre cliff path and blowing a kelp horn when one is spotted nearby.

The species was once depleted by commercial whaling but has been protected for decades.