Sea life Sightings in Thailand
Pink dolphin, sea turtle and black tip shark sightings are just some of the unusual and growing number of sightings of sea life in Thailand. Scientists attribute this to the absence of tourists and fishing boats during the Coronavirus pandemic, report Captain Charlie Dwyer and Gordon Fernandes, co-founders of Asia Pacific Superyachts.
Pink Dolphins: A fisherman in the Gulf of Thailand enjoyed a rare encounter with pink dolphins, which scientists say are becoming bolder in the absence of tourists. Pink dolphins are extremely rare and are appearing more often in the Gulf Thailand, near Koh Phangan and Khanom by Koh Samui. Chaiyot Saedan, a fisherman recently provided a video of his experience to Reuters, showing the three pink dolphins swimming close to a fishing boat in calm waters off Koh Phangan, a neighbouring island of Koh Samui, remarking, “I was so impressed, because I never imagined I would get to see pink dolphins. Due to less traffic with the coronavirus lockdown, dolphins now have a more comfortable habitat, and that’s why they tend to show up more.”
Sea Turtles: Between April 4 and 24, three nests hatched on the secluded beach at Banyan Tree Samui resort, and a total of around 200 baby turtles emerged under the watchful gaze of the hotel’s resident marine biologist, Thepsuda Loyjiw. Staff at the hotel made the discovery of nests in early March. “It was heart-warming to watch the baby turtles being born, and then scurrying to the sea. Ever since the mother turtle laid her eggs on our beach, we have been protecting them from predators such as birds and monitor lizards, and gauging the temperature of the eggs to make sure the hatchlings would be given every chance of survival.” Some Thai beaches have seen the largest number of turtle nests in two decades, according to Kanokwan Homcha-ai, a supervisor at the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation.
Black Tipped Reef Sharks and Dugongs: Than Bok Khorani National Park staff came across dozens of Black Tipped reef sharks swimming and feeding along the shores of Koh Hong in Krabi province. Around 50 Black Tipped reef sharks with a body length of almost 1 metre, were happily feeding on mullet fish around the shores of Koh Hong. A rare sight according to the marine officials and the second time in the past month after the closure of Than Bok Khorani National Park in Krabi province due to the Coronavirus crisis. Dugongs (sea cows) have also been seen frolicking off the coast of Trang.
It would seem that absence of tourism and fishing boats due to the Covid-19 crisis have brought about a thriving resurgence of sea and marine life to Thailand, and there are lessons to be learned.