1 Jan - Give them enough chances......
"Give them enough chances and they will surely disappoint you."
That was a quote from a dolphin researcher working at Monkey Mia when I visited many years ago. However, the flip side is "Give them enough chances and they will surely delight you".
Today was sunny with a breeze that was chilly early but became more pleasant as the day warmed up.
Bay2 was host to a lone dolphin doing a bit of half hearted hunting when I arrived. I decided to watch for a while and wait for the temperature to rise a bit before entering the water,but, when the D came within 5 metres of the edge I couldn't resist. When the dolphin approached me I could see that it was a juvenile. Maybe mum had moved it on and it hadn't formed any friendships with others. An occasional dolphin prefers to live alone only socializing occasionally. Anyway, this young D gave me a full on five minutes, shadowing me, diving with me and synchronizing its ascent to the surface with mine.
It was in and out of the bay for the next couple of hours doing its own thing. It was good to watch it from the shore. Later 3 more young dolphins came into the bay and the four of them gave me two separate 15 minute "games". They seemed to have nothing to do but play so I made the most of it. I could hear the squeals of delight emanating from a young girl on the beach every time a fin surfaced near my head. At times we were only about 10 metres from the water's edge. One of these four had a long scratch almost the length of its body. It was deeper than the scratches that they usually carry and looked like the result of a collision with a reef.
By the time I left the wind had died and the sun had a bit of Aussie sting in it. Maybe summer has arrived?
That was a quote from a dolphin researcher working at Monkey Mia when I visited many years ago. However, the flip side is "Give them enough chances and they will surely delight you".
Today was sunny with a breeze that was chilly early but became more pleasant as the day warmed up.
Bay2 was host to a lone dolphin doing a bit of half hearted hunting when I arrived. I decided to watch for a while and wait for the temperature to rise a bit before entering the water,but, when the D came within 5 metres of the edge I couldn't resist. When the dolphin approached me I could see that it was a juvenile. Maybe mum had moved it on and it hadn't formed any friendships with others. An occasional dolphin prefers to live alone only socializing occasionally. Anyway, this young D gave me a full on five minutes, shadowing me, diving with me and synchronizing its ascent to the surface with mine.
It was in and out of the bay for the next couple of hours doing its own thing. It was good to watch it from the shore. Later 3 more young dolphins came into the bay and the four of them gave me two separate 15 minute "games". They seemed to have nothing to do but play so I made the most of it. I could hear the squeals of delight emanating from a young girl on the beach every time a fin surfaced near my head. At times we were only about 10 metres from the water's edge. One of these four had a long scratch almost the length of its body. It was deeper than the scratches that they usually carry and looked like the result of a collision with a reef.
By the time I left the wind had died and the sun had a bit of Aussie sting in it. Maybe summer has arrived?
posted by jacfin at 1:44 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home