Close Encounter with Dolphins and Whales
By Francisca Galvez Vidal
8 Mar 2008
I feel strongly attracted to whales and dolphins and have always loved all forms of cetaceans. One of my dreams from childhood was to swim with them. I remember one time when I was visiting Mexico as a teenager I found a place where they had captive dolphins people could swim with. But no matter how badly I wanted it, it was very expensive and I couldn't afford it. I was disappointed, as it proved to be not an easy dream to fulfill.
But luckily, after years of waiting for the right moment, I had a better opportunity of a close encounter with cetaceans in Kaikoura, New Zealand. As I embarked in the adventure of going swimming with dusky dolphins, I was overwhelmed by the emotions cetaceans evoke in me, triggered by a video we watched before departing.
At first sight it was already impressive, a very active pod of 50 or more dolphins were in the middle of their playtime. Everyone at the boat was absolutely marveled by their impressive acrobatic display out of the water, endlessly entertaining jumps, leaps and twists bursting all over the place. They are just so happy, playful beings, so beautiful and awe-inspiring. We couldn't wait to jump into the water and share a moment of space and time with these amazing creatures of the sea.
Once in the water their natural curiosity attracted them to us immediately. They came very close to me, looked straight in my eye and then circled a couple of times around me, showing off their beautiful design of black and white, their smiley face and bright intelligent eyes. It was such a great experience, I felt like I could swim around them for ages without getting tired.
When they called us back to the boat the adventure was not over though, they had some more good news for us. A group of orcas had been spotted a bit further away, and the captain was willing to take us over there to have a look!
I was so excited when I first caught glimpse of the long and pointy dorsal fins. Then we got closer and they were all around us, the majestic killer whales. Their black skin shining bright as they appeared at the surface, blowing the air out, moving slowly and gracefully. Apparently two males and two females, they were swimming next to the boat under a concert of clicks from the cameras. An amazing experience to remember, while it was also an inspiration for me to want to work in closer relationship with dolphins and whales to gain a better understanding of them and help conserve them.
So my message is: Let's save the whales!
We don't need to eat them, they have the right to live, as intelligent, sentient beings, the lords of the Earth's oceans...
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