The Tour 

This trip is an adventure on the high sea.  The voyage begins at the Musée Nature Topicale in Cotonou, in the early morning. From there the visitor will go to the Port of Pêches.  At the port we will enter the sea, where one will see people engaged in both traditional and commercial fishing methods, while oberserving dolphins and whales interactiing in their natural habitat. 

General Information 

Contact Us

Nature Tropicale
Muée des sciences Naturelles
06 BP 10150
Akpakpa PK 3
Cotonou, Benin

Tel: (229) 33 37 73 / 40 91 14
Fax: (229) 33 87 32

Website : http://ifrance.com/ntong-benin
E-mail: ntongmu@yahoo.com ou
              josea_bj@yahoo.co.uk

Costs and Times

     Adults : 16.000 FCFA
Children  : 12.000 FCFA

Price includes photographs, boat, breakfast and lunch

7h30 - 15h00
September - November

Megaptera novaeangliae 
Status: Endangered
Megaptera, or the humpback whale, is an interesting whale species that can reach up to 18 m in length and weigh up to 38 metric tons.  They are slow swimmers, which is what allows them to be easily hunted and captured even with the most primitive weapons.  Megaptera is a marathon traveller, appearing near the equator during winter months and returning to the Arctic or Antarctic circles during the spring.

Their great humps can be seen skimming along the surface of the ocean before they pirouette into the air and dive back into the sea. They will roll themselves to the surface and launch themselves into the air many times by the aid of their pectoral fins.  They live in both the northern and southern hemispheres migrating during the summer months to the arctic areas to feed and return to the tropics in the winter to reproduce.  Their principle predators are humans and killer whales. 

Whales are the largest animal living on our planet today.  They have been intensely hunted for centuries and certain species are nearing excitation.  Unfortunately many of the hunting restrictions protecting whale species are not being respected.  

A large part of their diet is made up of the small plankton crustaceans (from the genre Euphasia) which forms in large ‘banks’ in arctic waters and is commonly known as krill.

Whales mate for life. Their gestation period is from 10-12 months.  Whales birth near the surface, females will have one infant at a time measuring up to 4 m in length.  Young will stay near their mothers for up to 10 months.  The unique shape of the newborns mouth allows for breastfeeding; nursing whales can produce up to 1 metric ton of milk a day.  

Whales live in groups.  They produce sounds under water, allowing them to communicate among themselves. The acoustic centres in their brains greatly amplify these sounds. A few months before their breeding time they leave the arctic zones, abandoning their feeding areas, and migrate to more temperate climates to conceive.  During this migration they do not eat.   The megaptera or humpback whale visits the coast of Benin for breeding purposes.     

The large dolphin or whistler
Tursiops truncatus

Characteristically grey or light grey on its upper side, white on its under side, and having a large tail, the dolphin has a small snout with a track dividing the frontal part.  Its dorsal fin is long and tapered.

They can be trained, much like the common dolphin, and their tricks vary.  Very sociable, the large dauphin lives in hierarchical groups; a male will follow the females(who are dominant) and their young. They copulate in the spring and summer.  The gestation and nursing period for the female is about 16 months.

Dolphins are carnivores and their diet consists of fish, crustaceans, and muscles. They can live in either small or large groups, some have been known to number thousands of individuals.   Generally, they prefer groups of 10 to 20 individuals

The large dorsal fin (tail) of the Whistler Doplhin undulates, aiding the swimming action propelling the dolphin forward.  Their caudal fins allow for horizontal movements(up and down). Some dolphins have been known to reach speeds of 55 km/h.