SWIMMING WITH GENTLE GIANTS
July 30th 2008 00:00
They are sharks yet they are the most gentle of all sea creatures. Okay, maybe that’s just my opinion. But this specie is not the least threatening – unless mere size threatens you. And they are big. No wonder they are called Whale Sharks. But you can swim with them all you want and they won’t bother you.
I have an unfortunate experience with one of these guys, but not because it bothered me. I was in this town in the Province of Camarines Norte when words came out that a Whale Shark was caught and butchered in one of the town’s fishing villages.
Out of curiosity, I went with a couple of government officials who checked the story, and there it was. The poor creature, chopped into several enormous pieces, and I mean, huge pieces. You’ll wonder what in the world they did that for. And the culprits were gone.
To give you an idea how big that creature was… one of its pectoral fins alone measured around 6 ft. from the gill cover to the tip.
But that was a sad story that, hopefully, will no longer be repeated. My optimism stems from the fact that people, in another town, in another province, in the same region, have learned that the Whale Sharks (known to them as Butanding) can be more valuable to them alive than dead – thru eco-tourism.
And that is what brought us to this story about Donsol, Sorsogon, one of the very few places in the world where this shark can be seen, swimming freely in the sea, and where people can interact with them. Well, close enough, but not too closely.
If you want a guide on how to interact with them, visit this site:www.sorsogontourism.com
They converge in this area between the months of October and May.
Sorsogon is the southernmost province of the main island of Luzon. A One hour and a half ferry boat ride from the town of Matnog, Sorsogon will bring you to the Visayas. But Sorsogon City is less than two (2) hour leisure drive from Legazpi, Albay where there is an airport, and where Mayon Volcano is (previous post).
It is not a bad idea to shoot two birds with one stone, in a manner of speaking, (visiting the tourist destinations in both Provinces of Albay and Sorsogon) but you should make sure that you have a few extra days to spend in the town of Donsol as, sometimes, finding a whale shark to interact with could take a bit of time.
There were just a handful of lodging houses in Donsol the last time I was there, but it is not that far from either Sorsogon or Legazpi. So, with some planning, that little detail shouldn’t be much of a problem.
I have an unfortunate experience with one of these guys, but not because it bothered me. I was in this town in the Province of Camarines Norte when words came out that a Whale Shark was caught and butchered in one of the town’s fishing villages.
Out of curiosity, I went with a couple of government officials who checked the story, and there it was. The poor creature, chopped into several enormous pieces, and I mean, huge pieces. You’ll wonder what in the world they did that for. And the culprits were gone.
To give you an idea how big that creature was… one of its pectoral fins alone measured around 6 ft. from the gill cover to the tip.
Comparison pic. source: Wikipedia
But that was a sad story that, hopefully, will no longer be repeated. My optimism stems from the fact that people, in another town, in another province, in the same region, have learned that the Whale Sharks (known to them as Butanding) can be more valuable to them alive than dead – thru eco-tourism.
Male Whale Shark pic source: Wikipedia
If you want a guide on how to interact with them, visit this site:www.sorsogontourism.com
They converge in this area between the months of October and May.
Sorsogon is the southernmost province of the main island of Luzon. A One hour and a half ferry boat ride from the town of Matnog, Sorsogon will bring you to the Visayas. But Sorsogon City is less than two (2) hour leisure drive from Legazpi, Albay where there is an airport, and where Mayon Volcano is (previous post).
It is not a bad idea to shoot two birds with one stone, in a manner of speaking, (visiting the tourist destinations in both Provinces of Albay and Sorsogon) but you should make sure that you have a few extra days to spend in the town of Donsol as, sometimes, finding a whale shark to interact with could take a bit of time.
There were just a handful of lodging houses in Donsol the last time I was there, but it is not that far from either Sorsogon or Legazpi. So, with some planning, that little detail shouldn’t be much of a problem.
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