Sunday, July 10, 2011

HKG131: Dolphin Watch

today, we got up early and met up with our friends to go on the Hong Kong Dolphin Watch. the boat ride out was mostly relaxing...chasing the baby boys reduced the relaxation a bit. we "arrived" around 11 and sure enough, we got to see some dolphins jumping and swimming around. unfortunately, q was at the apex of his fussiness during this time, so i didn't see a whole lot first hand (neither did josh), but our friend is a magnificent photographer, and so we've gotten to enjoy the watch via her photographs.

the bus ride out there was an opportunity to learn about dolphins in hong kong, and it's a sad tale. because of the waters being incredibly polluted and overfished, a dolphin's life span in hong kong is about half as long as in other parts of the world. the chinese dolphin is white, but when s/he gets to swimming a lot, s/he turns pink! the babies are born a dark grey color, and by the time they are adolescents, they begin turning white/pink. this phenomenon is not completely understood.

it was a great day, and i thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to see the dolphins, but i can't say that the experience left me warm and fuzzy considering what i learned about these big, beautiful creatures and how hard their life is here.



all photos (except where noted) are courtesy of michelle b.

3 comments:

  1. Love the video of Olivia doing pony boy to Quinn. She can practice on Cole all she wants this week! We had such a fun day with you again!

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  2. Janet from HK Dolphinwatch here (the guide who had to leave early)- glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the nice write-up! Ringo is rarely in HK waters this time of year, so you were very lucky to see her and even get a picture!

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  3. Awesome video and pictures. :) Looks like a really fun filled day. I loved the junk boats while I was there, I think I rode them 3 times. :P

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