The Intelligent Ones

Quite a lot of movies have been made about them. We also see them in marine parks doing all sorts of stunts for a reward – of fish. Perhaps its most famous member is known as Flipper. Yes, that adorable marine creature with a perpetual smiling face and is known as a very intelligent animal.

But beyond movies and marine park stunts, there are true stories and situations I have seen and heard about the dolphins in the Philippines. Be forewarned, though. This is not about adventures of Flipper nor a happy story. Be ready to rage and shed some tears.

Have you seen a dolphin skull? I did. Lots of them. They were used as ornaments outside the houses in some fishing villages. A dried up dolphin tail hang on windowsill drives away evil spirits – they said.

Did you know that the fishball you once had might have contained shark meat? Did you know that because of the shark’s fin soup craze in Chinese restaurants, many sharks were caught, their fins cut off, and their bodies thrown back into the sea as waste? Those sharks were still alive. And ironically, they die of drowning. Did you know that to catch a shark, dolphin parts are sometimes used as bait? Did you see the connection? Such senselessness?….. (don’t eat shark’s fin soup!!)

Have you eaten dolphin meat? It actually tastes like bad carabao meat. Before your stomach turns at the thought of even seeing such meal on your table, let me tell you that people in (actually very few) coastal villages had actually eaten some dolphin meat. They had very little choice. Fish catches are oftentimes not enough to feed a family, and at times, all they could catch were dolphins (they say by accident). For the very poor people in those villages, sometimes, the only thing they can afford to buy was dolphin meat. Now I ask you. Where do we point an accusing finger?

Luckily, the government recently banned the killing and selling of dolphins. I really hope that the story I just told you would remain history.

More Rage

There’s this famous place in Australia called Monkey Mia where dolphins would come near the shore and make friends with people. That place is now a famous tourist attraction where people are given the chance to bond with dolphins under no human condition.

The same thing almost happened in the Philippines. Some kids were playing in the water somewhere in the Visayas when two dolphins came very near them. The elders saw what happened. We can’t even guess what was on the minds of the elders when they approached the dolphins with drawn bolos. Did they think their children were in danger, or did they see food? Do I have to continue?


More Tears

I have a friend, Rowena who is a biologist and also a tourism officer of the city of Bais in Negros Oriental. Bais is the first place in the Philippines where organized dolphin watching was developed. This is her story:

It was one typical sunny day when they were going out to Tanon Strait for another dolphin watching tour. About 20 minutes out, they saw a small pod (group) of spinner dolphins following the boat. They noticed that the dolphins were not letting up even after quite sometime. Then finally, only one dolphin continued to follow them. Because of curiosity, Rowena decided to stop the boat and waited for the dolphin to catch up. When it got near the boat, a crewmember went down into the water to investigate and saw to his amazement that the dolphin was already giving birth! The tail of the baby dolphin was already sticking out and they thought that the mother dolphin was trying to ask for their help. After some careful considerations, they decided to help and brought it on board the boat for the delivery of the baby.

Rowena and her companions found out that the baby dolphin was already dead even before they took it out of the water.

And to add to the depressing situation, the mother dolphin died after only a few minutes.

If only we could prove that the dolphin indeed tried to seek the help of humans. If only we could prove that these intelligent animals consider us as friends.


Anticlimax (no more tears)

Fishermen have great stories to share. This one happened to a colleague of my cousin who used to work as a crewmember of a big fishing boat.

One night in the seas of Mindanao, a drunken crewmember of the fishing boat decided to sleep on the deck. While carrying his cot towards the deck, he lost his balance and fell over board. For two days and nights, he was lost at sea before being rescued. One event he cannot forget was when on the second night, he saw sharks coming towards him. He thought it was a “goodbye world” thing for him. Then suddenly, numerous dolphins appeared and drove away the sharks!

Now, do you want me to tell the story of a pregnant woman who was rescued by dolphins?