Video by Catherine Lumsden
Sai Kung was abuzz with news that a whale was spotted in the waters off Millionaire’s Bay, Sai Kung on Thursday 13 July. According to local media many people are taking boats to the area today to see if they can catch a glimpse of the enormous creature, but conservationists have urged people not to disturb the marine mammal.
The whale was spotted initially by instructors from Hebe Haven Yacht Club, who then alerted members. BUZZ reader and contributor Catherine Lumsden told us , “We’re out all the time in that area on the water. And we’ve never seen anything remotely like it. It was just magnificent.”
She said the whale kept its distance from the nearby speedboats but was curious and gentle.
“[It] would come up and then we wait and then [it’d] just come up again a little bit further away or a little bit closer. But then eventually it looked like [it] was going out into deeper water,” Lumsden said.
Video by Lily Reid, HHYC
Taison Chang, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, explained that the whale was eating.
“It is a very typical foraging behaviour of what we can see in Baleen whales… they usually feed by opening wide their mouths and then try to take in a large amount of water and try to filter out the small animals like fishes or shrimps or krill inside the water,” Chang said.
Chang also urged the public not to approach the whale, because that increases the risk of pushing it further inland and it could get stranded as a result.
“But if you are already on the boat and you spot the whale, you can just simply keep distance from the whale. Try to give the animal some space. And that may allow the animal to try to look for its way out to go out to open water again,” he said.
Photos: Catherine Lumsden
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department confirmed that it received a notification from the police yesterday afternoon that a whale was found in the waters of Rocky Harbour, Sai Kung. The Department has sent personnel to patrol the vicinity.
Earlier today at around 8:00 am, a reporter from “Hong Kong 01” took a boat in Sai Kung, and went to inspect the waters off High Island where the whale sightings appeared yesterday. The reporter found that the whale had surfaced twice around 9:00 am; marine police boats on the scene were also patrolling the waters where the whales appeared. In addition, some people were chartering boats from Sai Kung Pier to go out to look for whales.
According to HK01, one local boatman, said that he saw the whale swimming in the sea twice this morning, but he did not raise his head above the water like yesterday, just a fin. He immediately sailed out to sea when he heard the news of the sighting of the whale yesterday, and saw the whale up close. . He said that some citizens spotted the whale at 3:00 pm yesterday, and they still saw the whale until 6:00 to 7:00 pm in the evening. He pointed out that this is the first time he has seen a whale in the area and guessed that it was a juvenile whale, and it must have strayed into the bay.
Paul Arkwright, General Manager, HHYC said, “It’s amazing and heart-warming to see what looks like a Bryde’s whale surfacing so close to one of the Club’s safety boats. Such a treat for our young sailors and definitely a great sign that our oceans are improving in terms of biodiversity.” Arkwright cautioned, “As with any wild creature, it’s important that all vessels should keep their distance from them to avoid disturbing and potentially stressing them.”
He added, “We believe the whale to be one of three species, a Bryde’s whale or a subspecies thereof: an Eden’s whale or an Omura’s whale. We spotted the whale in a coastal shallow environment, where the water depth is only around 18 m. The gaping mouth demonstrates trap-feeding behaviour typical of Baleen whales, although it may also indicate that the mammal is confused. High levels of fish bait in the area may also have attracted the whale to feed there.”
Lily Reid, one of the Club’s Senior Sailing Instructors was the first to spot the beautiful creature. Her video posted online then went viral – see above.
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