As many of you will know by now I'm sure, a trip à la Jen is not complete without a wildlife excursion of some kind, be that whale watching in Santa Barbara, going on a full-blown safari in east Africa or - something I can check off my list as of today - spotting endangered pink dolphins in Hong Kong.
I was so lucky re: wildlife spots in Africa, getting to see all of the Big 5 in my week-long trip as well as the rare serval and white rhinos, of which there are apparently just 6 left in the world. Hong Kong's 'pink' dolphins are also endangered although not on quite such a drastic scale: there are around 50 in the area (down from hundreds thanks to the city's rapid development) and we saw 5-6, quite a number compared to the 2-3 our guide said they usually see in one morning. The dolphins were also very active, jumping out of the water and swimming up close to the boat, giving us plenty of photo opps.
I'll keep the intro to these dolphins brief as I'm aware not everyone has the same level of interest in animals as I do! Couple of interesting facts...
- The species is actually the Chinese White Dolphin, which begs the question: are they pink or are they white? While they appear pink, they are actually white - the pink is caused by 'blushing' as they zip through the water. It's much like us running for 30 minutes; blood is flushed to the outer layers of skin to regulate body temperature.
- The dolphins are not born white; instead they enter the world a dark shade of grey, which fades to light grey within a few months. Then, starting with the fins and tails, the grey colour gradually disappears, leaving grey spots on the body in the process. Thanks to their habitat (a mix of salt and freshwater & lots of sediment), the dolphins have no natural predators and therefore have no need for camouflage.
- Their average life span is around half that of wild populations found elsewhere, which can live up to 40 years. Of the carcasses found washed up on Lantau's shores, over half are infants, which can be explained by the high levels of DDT found in their mother's milk. Hong Kong's dolphin population is expected to undergo a further drop when work on a planned bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau & Zhuhai gets underway, as dredging and other construction work will undoubtedly affect their natural habitat.
Knowing that they might not be here in the near future made the occasion all the more poignant. Here are a few of my best snaps - it was NOT easy, they're speedy buggers!
