The architects: common dolphins
Common dolphins are the engine of the whole event. They arrive in super-pods that can number in the thousands, working in coordinated relays to drive sardines toward the surface and corral them into tight, panicked spheres — the famous baitballs. Without the dolphins, there's often no baitball. Watching a super-pod organise a hunt is one of the great wildlife experiences in the ocean.
The perimeter: sharks
Bronze whaler (copper), dusky and blacktip sharks patrol the edges of the action, picking off sardines flushed from the ball. Bronze whalers are often the largest sharks in the encounter. These are focused, food-driven animals working the same prey as everyone else — a very different context from a baited dive.
From above: Cape gannets
Cape gannets turn the surface into a war zone. They fold their wings and dive at around 100 km/h, piercing the water in white explosions and continuing the hunt several metres down. A gannet storm over a baitball, shot from below, is one of the iconic images of the run.
From below: whales
Bryde's whales lunge up through baitballs from beneath, engulfing huge mouthfuls in a single pass. Humpback whales pass through on their own northward migration during the same window, and breaching and surface activity are common. Encounters are never guaranteed, but the migration corridor is alive with whales through the season.
The supporting cast
Bottlenose dolphins, Cape fur seals, game fish and — occasionally — sailfish round out the encounters. Even on days without a full baitball, the migration highway delivers dolphins, sharks and whales.
A realistic expectation
This is wild nature, not an aquarium. No operator can promise a baitball on any given day — they depend on weather, water temperature and predator behaviour. What good operating can do is maximise your time in the right water and get you positioned when it happens. More days on the water meaningfully raises your odds of seeing the full spectrum. (More on timing in our best time to dive guide.)
Shooting the action
Each of these animals demands a slightly different approach — see our Sardine Run photography guide for gear and settings.
Witness it for yourself. See the 2026 expeditions →