I have just returned to Brisbane via the NSW mid-North Coast after a hectic couple of days in Sydney.
The front page of the local Forster paper the ‘Great Lakes Advocate’ had a picture of a Southern Right Whale that apparently put on a show for the locals last week by passing close to the beach and a rock wall while performing a series of “fluke-up dives”.
According to the local reporter Jason Parker the whale “lapped up the attention [from the assembled crowd by] raising its head our of the water several times in what whale researchers call a ‘spy hop'”.
Could the whale really have registered the delight on the faces of the people it passed by?
I see today that ABC Online has an article about Tin Can Bay residents and tourists ignoring a government directive to stop feeding dolphins. The article states that:
Troy Anderson, who manages the dolphin feeding operation, is also defying the ban and he says it seems most people are prepared to ignore the Minister. “We had upwards of 70 people here on Saturday, we informed the people they could be fined if they were caught feeding the wild dolphin but it didn’t stop the stampede up to the hand wash and the fish dispensing centre,” he said.
How close should we humans get to wild animals? Is it OK to feed wild dolphins?
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
I was just sent the following comment and links by a reader of this weblog:
“The book by Danielle Clode makes for fascinating reading about a case where a pod of killer whales and local whalers of the South Coast of NSW collaborated in hunting down humpback whales and even blue whales.
http://www.echonews.com/827/book_reviews.html
I also see that the book has spun off a televison program to be broadcast on ABC the 9 October which is also available on video and DVD.
http://www.abc.net.au/nature/stories/s1470100.htm
The deal struck between the Orcas and the humans – The Law of the Tongue- is quite amazing. Apparently the Orca got the first go at the prey after it had been killed and chose to eat the tongue while leaving the rest for the whalers.”
According to ABC OnLine ( http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1477525.htm ):
The Queensland Government has done a backflip over dolphin feeding at Tin Can Bay in the state’s south-east.
Environment Minister Desley Boyle had threatened to take the owner of a cafe to court after outlawing the feeding last week.
Hundreds of residents and tourists defied the ban this week.
Ms Boyle says “people power” has forced the Government to offer a compromise solution.
She says her department will now work with the Commonwealth and the cafe owners to monitor the dolphins’ health.
And I thought Currumbin bird sanctuary might be next – with the banning of the feeding of the wild birds.
in australia , they said u cant even touch wild dolphins beacause if u touch them , the human’s smell will cover them and it’s a weird smell to them >> so they cannot return to their group