Saturday, June 24, 2006

Video of large group of Irrawaddy dolphins at Santubong



As mentioned before it is not easy to get good photos or video of Irrawaddy dolphins. You need to spot a large group and hope that they hang around for a while. This is what happened on a recent trip to Santubong. We spotted one group very close to the shore and then a second group joined them. Before long dolphins were surfacing everywhere and I did not have a clue where to point the video camera. I tried to count the total number of dolphins around us but lost count after I got to 20. Where else in the world can you see 20+ Irrawaddy dolphins in the same stretch of the river? Santubong, it is such a magically place. Maybe one day the forests and shores at Santubong will become protected areas, as was first proposed over 20 years ago. I live in hope. But hope is not something that lasts forever, especially when every time I go dolphin watching I see those illegal sand dredgers in the bay. More on that another day.

3 comments:

Francis Ho said...

Thanks for sharing this with us.

How I wished I was there!

pesut said...

Satang Island is nearby and has some coral. Some local divers go there but the quality of the reef is poor, as is visibility. Best dive spots in Sarawak are offshore from Miri.

Anonymous said...

Hello,
Good Job!!!I have also been on a tour watching in Damai,Similajau & Miri but no luck to dance with this gracefully fellow.Next time maybe.