Rare whale sighting in Hong Kong waters delights locals, intrigues experts
Hong Kong Free Press
A whale has been spotted in Hong Kong’s eastern waters, a rare sighting that has enthralled spectators and intrigued experts trying to assess the reason for the visit.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a Facebook post on Friday the mammal was suspected to be a Bryde’s whale.
Catherine Lumsden shared footage of the encounter near Millionaire’s Beach in Sai Kung with HKFP on Thursday. “Still buzzing from it now! Beyond magnificent and stuff of dreams, and right here in Sai Kung,” Lumsden told HKFP.
The Hebe Haven Yacht Club also uploaded a video on Facebook, showing the whale poking its head above water and repeatedly opening its mouth before diving back down in a display of its dorsal fin.
HKFP has reached out to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) for comment.
WWF said Bryde’s whales were usually found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Some may pass through the city during their migration, or it may have gotten lost or fallen sick.
The conservation organisation asked people not to go in search of the whale as boat traffic and engine noise may cause it stress and disturb it. The Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society also urged the public to keep their distance and not surround it with boats as this may affect its ability to find its way back to the open sea.
Founding president of the Hong Kong Ichthyological Society Chong Dee-hwa told a radio programme that the whale did not appear to be lost in Hong Kong waters. Chong said it might have been chasing sardines, which bred rapidly due to the improved water quality in the city.
The whale was believed to be a Bryde’s Whale because of its size and its way of eating small fish – opening its mouth wide and filtering prey with its teeth.
Hong Kong and mainland China’s southern coast are home to a population of around 2,000 pink dolphins – the largest group in the world. Also known as Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins or Chinese white dolphins, their abundance in Hong Kong waters has declined by almost 80 per cent in 18 years, according to data collected by the AFCD.
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