A Whale of a Journey at Sandiao Bay: Encountering the Spectacle of Whales at Sea

There are whales by the sea! And not stranded ones, but living whales swimming about freely. This unexpected visitor was the talk of residents along the northeastern coast in early August.

It began off the coast of Hemei, where a fisherman at work was so startled by a whale suddenly surfacing that he turned his boat back to shore. A few days later, the whale swam into Mao'ao Bay, lingering inside and outside the bay for two days with the tide, and perhaps with the schools of fish. In the days that followed, fishermen still encountered it at sea from time to time.

The true identity of this whale, more than 5 m long, still cannot be confirmed; judging from the head it occasionally shows, it may be the smallest of the baleen whales—the minke whale. Though numerous, minke whales still face tremendous hunting pressure. Fortunately, during this time in the northeastern corner, most people were able to treat it with a friendly attitude. Passing visitors would stop and wait for it to appear, and whenever it surfaced to spout, it always drew a chorus of gasps---isn't this exactly the picture of a whale we drew as children?

A teacher at Fulian Elementary School, whose school sits right by Mao'ao Bay, wanted to record this rare visitor but feared disturbing it, so paddled out to sea in a canoe; a fisherman out sea fishing happened upon it, and after turning off the boat's engine, the whale friend indeed approached on its own; there was even talk of someone going into the sea to swim with it! Encountering a healthy whale this close to shore is not easy, and everyone seized this rare whale adventure in their own way.

I could not help wondering too: had the crab-eating mongoose also exchanged travel notes with this rare visitor from afar?

Although countries unwilling to give up whaling always package their commercial whaling in the name of scientific research, people have not gained any more understanding of these giants because of the so-called scientific research they speak of. Everything we do on land is ultimately borne by the ocean. Perhaps there will be more and more chances to meet these rare visitors from the sea. Beyond giving them a friendly reception, maintaining a healthy umbilical link between rivers and sea, so that clean nutrients from the land can become food for coastal creatures and thereby sustain a complete marine ecosystem, is a small responsibility we can fulfill for them.

Note: Sandiao Bay refers to the sea area between Longdong Cape and Sandiao Cape.