A dolphin! One of my favorite marine animal!
So this is what happened: After we went boating, we returned back to our hut in Christian's beach resort in Sariaya, Quezon. I was ready to eat, when one of our companions said that there's a dolphin on the beach. I immediately grabbed my camera and ran to the beach. I was taking photos of the rescue when I realized that two of them were our companions, Kae and Maui. I just kept on taking their photos. Since I saw that they were going to free the dolphin on the other side, I didn't go to them anymore. But when I saw that the dolphin doesn't want to go, we immediately ran to them on the other side of the beach. We tried asking for help from the lifeguards to go call for help. They said they did. So instead of waiting for help, since time is of the essence, we decided to load the dolphin on the boat and bring it to deep waters and free it. With the help of local boatmen, we did.
Once the dolphin was in deeper water, we could only hope that it will just swim towards the sea. But no, it decided to go back, so we had to rush back to shore and look for him. We got him and decided to stay with him because if we let go, he will sink. The dolphin was too tired and stressed, that's why he was really weak. During that stay with the dolphin, we found out that he was a she. It was a female dolphin, a young female dolphin. My aunt kept on asking for help from the people in the nearby resort if they could call the local fisheries or the coast guard. Some good people helped and one man who says he's from the local fisheries called some of his contacts. My aunt called her friend from the media if they can ask somebody to come and help. They also sent a camera crew to cover it. She also called an emergency hot line so they can patch her up to the coast guard or the local fisheries. They said they will.
It was difficult holding her because she was kinda heavy and we had to make her really comfortable as possible. We also had to keep the blow hole from being submerged too long in the water. And the strong waves didn't help at all. Praying for her was all we could do while holding her. And for four hours, we did.
A British national called up my aunt, he said he had encountered Dolphins who got separated from their pod or their mate. He also said that some dolphins tend to be suicidal if they get separated from their pods or mates, which kind of explains why she kept coming back to shore. He asked for the sex of the dolphin. It was a female. He told my aunt to have men hold the dolphin to stimulate her. Since Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures, they will know if the people who are holding her are either male or female. (amazing!)
So we asked our male companions to hold her and stroke her once in a while. By this time, we could see the coast guard coming. But of course we had to wait for the fisheries people to come, to know what we were supposed to do.
By this time also, the dolphin was getting fidgety. it was moving its body. So we asked the men to let go of her to see if she wants to swim. And she did. She was floating on her own. I think she regained her strength in the four hours she was with us. So we let her go and she just swam. She sank for a while and when the fisherman dove, he could not see her because she started swimming again. We followed her until we could no longer see her.
We went home with happy hearts knowing that she back in the waters, finding her family. Until I saw an article in inquirer.net saying that a female dolphin was found in Tayabas Quezon. Reading that article, I think it was the same one we found and freed. It was a good thing she's in good hands now.
I always dreamed of swimming with the Dolphins. I already planned a trip for myself to go to Subic Ocean Adventure and do just that. I never expected that my first dolphin encounter would include holding onto one and praying for it to hold on to its life and praying for help to come immediately.
Dolphins showing up on the shallow waters of Quezon is a normal occurrence for the people there. What makes me angry and sad is that they know it happens yet, they don't do anything about it. Some say that even whale sharks show up there. What is the local coast guard doing about this? Would it hurt them if they put up stations in place like these where endangered marine animals show up?
My aunt called so many people to help us, if they could patch us up with the local marine guards, sadly, only one came. Don't get me wrong, they may have been on their way, but they could have been there as soon as possible if they just had patrol stations in nearby areas. Some of them are coming from Lucena which is an hour away from Sariaya. Time is of the essence here. An hour is a lifetime in emergency situations.
Beach resorts should help in educating their clients about occurrence like these. The dolphin we found was being played at by kids. They were poking it and pounding on it. Injured or weak dolphins are not freak shows. Life is at stake here. Locals should be informed that they are not merely fishes. Dolphins are mammals like us. They are ENDANGERED species.
Local government units should have marine stations set up near bodies of water especially beaches. They should also do regular patrolling along the waters.
The media network I mentioned was there within 30 minutes after they were advised. Sometimes, I wish the authorities are like the media, quick to respond.
It saddens me that Quezon government is not doing anything about this. And yet, pictures of their governor are plastered almost everywhere you turn in their province.
This not only applies to the province of Quezon, it also applies to all provinces especially those who are near bodies of water.
We are stewards of God's creation. Let's help conserve our environment. It's one way of giving back to God for the beautiful place he created for us.
Ignorance is a disease. Awareness is the cure.
*Thank you to:
- The boatmen who stayed with us even if it meant sacrificing the earnings they could have made in that four hours.
- The local people who stepped up and helped and used their contacts in any way they can.
- The media people who also helped in contacting some authorities.
May God Bless you always!
xoxo
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