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Dancing With Whales
e've all heard about habitat. The nursing and resting
whalewatching from boats routines of the pods can be
or shore, and a few disrupted, potentially
companies are now offering the threatening the health of the
possibility of actually swimming whales.
and snorkeling with whales in the
wild. Is this a good thing? This high-risk activity is not
covered by most travel insurance
Some whalewatching operators in policies. The humpback whales of
the Kingdom of Tonga, South Tonga are wild animals with
Pacific islands, advertise the powerful fins, and swimming near
possibility of swimming and one always involves some risk.
snorkeling with humpback whales The movements of these huge
during the cetacean's annual creatures can be fatal to a human
migration from July to October. swimmer, either accidentally or
This activity sounds appealing, if the beast feels threatened,
yet there are a number of things and a nursing mother with calf
to consider. can be especially unpredictable.
Swimming into the path of a whale
To drop clients off within greatly increases the danger.
snorkeling distance of a whale,
the swim boats must come closer In Tonga, sharks are known to
than the 30 meters laid down in frequent areas where there are
Tongan government guidelines in whales, especially calves, and at
1997. Engine noise from a least one shark attack on a
maneuvering boat can startle a Tongan guide swimming with whales
whale, and repeated disturbances has been recorded. A tragic
can lead to the animals changing accident involving tourists seems
their behaviour and even to be only a matter of time.
abandoning their traditional
Most whale encounters occur in of whale pods, and of mother
deep waters where unperceived humpbacks and calves being
currents and wave action can soon pursued out to sea.
tire a snorkeler and possibly
lead to panic. For these reasons, Visitors should be aware that by
responsible whalewatching purchasing such an excursion,
companies like they could be adversely affecting
http://www.whalediscoveries.com the noble creatures they came to
do not offer snorkeling with see. It's a good idea to discuss
whales. these matters with the operator
before booking your trip, and to
Of course, the demand is there, avoid those who seem most
and pressure has come to bear on interested in maximizing their
the Tongan Government to revise own profits at the expense of the
its guidelines to allow boats to whales.
come within 10 meters of a whale.
Several new whalewatching Even if you decide to book such a
licenses have been issued tour, be aware that only 10
recently, raising the number of percent of swim-with attempts are
commercial operators in this successful and there are no
small area to about a dozen, and refunds. These concerns only
vessels often have to queue to apply to attempts to actually
drop off swimmers. Cases have swim with whales, and
been observed of boats whalewatching from a boat at a
approaching to within five meters safe distance is no problem.
About the Author:
David Stanley is the author of Moon Handbooks South Pacific http://www.southpacific.org/pacific.html which has a chapter on Tonga. Stanley's online Tonga Travel Guide is at http://www.southpacific.org/text/finding_tonga.html while his Tonga travel photos are on http://www.pacific-pictures.com/tonga/
Source: www.isnare.com
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