Amazing feats of dolphins

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

One.... two... and seven boats sailed through the Kandakulliya lagoon amidst the scorching sun, which was enough to bake you in the sand. Six in each boat, with a shade and fixed fibre chairs, we got into the sea to have an 'expedition'. The boats speeding at their maximum were competitively sailing towards the sea, which was becoming harsh at every leap we took.

Mariyawa dan wedi (The giant waves are tough) Mervin the navigator, who stood on the boat deck and was controlling it with a thick rope warning of another wave.

The giant wave took us eight feet high and smashed against the boat while another similar wave was making the same move. The giant waves kept on smashing on the fibre glass boat repeatedly causing alarm of an impending risk. We, the four environmental journalists, were helplessly trying to protect our valuables - cameras, recorders and notebooks. Luckily the boat had large shopping bags. Clad in orange life jackets we looked at each other helplessly. My two friends - Nayanaka and Mihiri- who are talkative were speechless and were subdued in a desperate attempt to hide their fears.

Subashana Joseph Mervin

A giant wave covered the boat and it reminded me of the tsunami. I clung onto the pole near me and looked back at the shore. We were some kilometres away and felt that there was no need of screaming or shouting. I closed my eyes praying for safety and for my life and to live for my son.

Mervin still stood on the deck like a hero and prayed to St. Steven, the Saint worshipped by the Kandakulliya fisherfolk. I prayed to Buddha and I think the others did the same. "Mariyawak", it was Mervin again. A giant wave took us as high as ever and I shouted pleading for help.

"Close your eyes and look down", the advice came from 'Jose', the 'Captain'. I looked at him and pleaded with him not to leave me even if the boat capsized.

Thawa tikak dura yanna thiyenne (It is not so far), Jose's voice was confident, but he blamed us for delaying as it would have been ideal if we had started before 6.30 in the morning. The sea and the sun were getting rough.

With each leap, the waves kept smashing on the boat. As per instructions by Jose I closed my eyes but the deadly tsunami waves haunted me. All the same, the graceful dances by the 'darling' dolphins which I have seen on TV soothed my mind.

The two experienced fishermen, who were born and bred in the coastal village of Kandakulliya and engaged in fishing for more than half their lives were confident of our safety. " Don't worry we will take you back safely. We know this since our birth", Mervin (31) and Joseph Rodrigo (44) said. Jose kept a strong hold on the wheel and made sure that they would stand the waves.

"Have no fear at the worst,if you fall a whale will swallow you up", Nayanaka, who gained confidence made a joke of it and said.

"Out of 29 varieties of marine mammals found in Sri Lankan waters, 21 of them can be seen in the Kalpitiya seas. The latest discovery was the sighting of the Short Fin Pilot Whale for the first time on the Kalpitiya seas", Sajith Subashana, a researcher on marine mammals and the Chairman of Ocean Resources Conservation Association (ORCA), said making us feel confident.

We were six nautical miles away from the shore. A giant tortoise swam by the side of the boat. It was nothing... we were only surrounded by the clear blue sky and the blue ocean. The ocean which was murky due to pollution was now a clear crystal blue and clean just like in a painting. The big fish... tortoises swam passed the boat. while the two experienced fishermen navigated the boat towards the target, Subashana kept on giving more information about dolphins as if he wanted to help us to dispel our fear. The informative lecture on marine mammals made us to be more watchful about the species that we might encounter.

Jose manoeuvring the boat deeper into the ocean kept in touch with the other boats, which informed the others if they sighted a dolphin pod. "Wattata kelin" (In front of the small island), he said giving the information of our whereabouts. Though we were ten nautical miles in the sea, we were not fortunate to spot a single dolphin. The predictions by the team were a mirage. But the duo had not abandoned their search. While contacting their colleagues, especially Mervin was having a sharp eye on the Ocean to witness at least a fin of a dolphin.

"Slow the speed... look this side... they are there", Subashana's voice brought hope. We scanned around ... with no clues we tried to escape another giant wave. The scorching sun and the repeated jerks made us weary of the journey, but we had no option other than to proceed until we reached the target. Everyone, despite their excitement due to the sea getting rough, were carefully scrutinising the ripples around the boat to have a slight indication that there was a dolphin.

A few minutes later a dolphin, which is a social animal, displayed an acrobatic dance through a giant wave and disappeared into the water. "Look, he will jump again", Subashana told Nayanaka, who had taken his expensive camera out from the 'sili sili' bag (Polythene bag) to catch a glimpse of the dance.

Thousands of dolphins were seen in the front of the moving boat by swimming rhythmically with the waves. We were spellbound and tried to catch a glimpse of this wonderful creation of nature. We met the other boats which were sailing unharmed to the pod that made dances with the waves.

"Slow the speed Jose. When we are watching dolphins we should not disturb them and should not chase the pod. The mothers, pregnant dolphins and small ones are swimming in the centre while the male adults guard the pod at the corners", Subashana was explaining while instructing the two fishermen to manoeuvre the boat parallel to the pod.

Amazingly it was a swathe of dolphins according to the two fishermen, over 15,000 dolphins surprising all of us and appearing through wave after a wave. After an exciting journey, the graceful dance of the shoals of dolphins flapping their fins and splashing water rhythmically brought us perfect harmony. From Kandakulliya to Bar reef in Puttalam, it was 10 nautical miles (18 km) and the geographical location of the area, which has the continental shelf from two metres and also with a depth of over 3,000 to 5,000 feet, have attracted the dolphins which find the area as a fine breeding ground to raise their babies.

"With the tourist boom, we together with the Tourist Board took steps to train fishermen as tour guides mainly to give them a proper know-how to promote dolphin and whale-watching without harming their habitats and behaviour. Some of the traditional fishermen killed dolphins for their meat.

There is a huge demand for whale-watching from tourists during the season from November to April", Subashana said.

The fishermen smell the availability of tuna in the ocean, when they sight the shoal of dolphins as tuna always swim underneath the dolphins. "This was the main reason the fishermen chased the pod. This nature of the boats had harmed manoeuvring pregnant and baby dolphins which swim in the middle of the pod", he said. "Talk to them in a loving tone. They will come in this direction", Jose said asking me to call the dolphins. While I was surprised by the sudden request, Subashana imitating a female voice said. "Dolphin my baby come here.... come here...", He was repeating it.Amazingly, some dolphins started displaying their acrobatic skills with the waves. They are spinning dolphins, which live up to their names. They rotate their body several times in a single leap, making onlookers breathless.

"The male dolphins are attracted to female voices. These dancers are males. They can hear the frequencey of the voices. They also react to the scream of bats because they are mammals", Jose said recalling how male dolphins get attracted to the voice of a female local tourist, who comes to see her dolphin friends.

"Some dolphins identify her voice. When she calls them in a loving tone. They go round the boat and also let her touch them", Jose said. This information was simply unbelievable.

An encounter with dolphins... is a rare opportunity one will have in one's life. It is a memorable experience that one will never forget and find it difficult to explain how exciting journey.

"A dolphin needs to come up to the surface to breathe and if there are boats chasing it, we should have a distance of at least 100 metres to make them comfortable and to stay in their usual friendly nature", Subashana who was worried about the nature of boat rides to dolphin territory said.Jose carefully rode the boat parallel to the pod, making it easy to catch a glimpse of the amazing mammal. The sea was getting rough as it was already 12.30 pm. As we were going against the waves, Jose said our journey to the shore would be quicker than when we come.Jose, is into fishing in rough seas since he was 16-years. With the income from fishing getting low due to poor prices and also the reduction in fish resources in the seas around Kalpitiya, most fishermen today have turned tour guides for whale watchers. He said over 25,000 dolphins could be sighted in Kalpitiya during the season.

"We did not have much knowledge about whales and dolphins until the ORCA and Tourist Board educated us about safety measures and the systematic ways of riding boats without harming the pod", he said adding that dolphins indicated that tuna fish were in the vicinity.

Recalling an educational CD which they were shown during their training, he said a dolphin swims continuously for over 16 km and rests for half an hour before taking another swim. The she dolphins will take the lead and a baby will swim for over 50 miles a day. "Do you know that they sleep for eight hours while shutting each eye for five minutes", Jose said making us surprised about how useful the newly found information was. Jose's information was true. According to researchers young dolphins never stopped and floated to the surface, they spend a considerable amount of time asleep while swimming.

Each boat will cost Rs. 8,000 but there is no limit as for the distance as they will take tourists till they spot a pod. According to Jose, 2011 was a profitable year for them as he had over 30 boat rides from Kandakulliya to the Bar Reef.

"It is interesting to note that the commonest marine mammal species in the area, the Spinner Dolphin was found within the Bar Reef marine sanctuary only during September to February, while during the present survey pods of Spinners were commonly encountered close to the shore on the southern part of the survey area between Talawila and Kandakulliya throughout the year, suggesting a resident population", Subashana said citing a survey prepared by NARA.

The survey documented a total of 11 species of marine mammals including four species not recorded by any of the previous surveys. These included, Bryde's Whale, Risso's Dolphin, Rough tooth-Dolphin and Finless Porpoise. The Killer Whale which was previously considered an extremely rare species in Sri Lankan waters is now considered not rare in the area with five or more records of the species within the last year.

During the survey, three species of marine mammals including Sperm whale, spotted Dolphin and local community members who engage in marine mammal-watching activities.

The local knowledge of the communities and tourists engaged in marine mammal-watching were collected and verified for accuracy and reliability. The community boat crews were assessed for their skills in tracking marine mammals, boat craft, rapport and behaviour in engaging marine mammal encounters. "We were late otherwise we could spend more time there", Jose complained again. We were a few meters to the shore. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "No we were not late,", I thought to myself and looking back the sea was still flapping the giant waves. The pride of watching one of the most intelligent animals after man, at close proximity will remain a cherished memory. An amazing acrobatic circle of a Spinner dolphin drawn in the horizon faded away.

The expedition was organised by the Ministry of Environment and the Central Environment Authority.