The Lonely Dolphin (Written and illustrated by Sarah Bellis)

The LoneLy DolpHin

Silvia Written and illustrated

by Sarah Bellis

Once, there were two dolphins playing in the sea.

Her mother laughed, One was the mother,

“Good job! Why don’t you try

the other was her baby.

to catch some more?”

“Yes, Mummy,” she replied, GDUWLQJ RII WR ÀQG DQRWKHU FDWFK

“Look Mummy, I caught another one!” Silvia exclaimed.

“I’m gonna get you,” said Silvia, DV VKH FKDVHG DIWHU WKH VSHHG\ ÀVK

Her mother felt a distinct change in atmosphere, as the ocean had become eerily quiet.

Everything was still, aside from a distant, repeated banging.

“Silvia, can you hear that?”

The distant banging came closer and closer…

Her mother arrived at Silvia’s side at once, “Come Silvia, we must get out of here this instant.”

“What is that noise? My head hurts!

What’s happening, Mummy?” she asked, as she followed her mother.

´:KDW DERXW P\ ÀVK" , ZDV JRLQJ WR get them.”

“There’s no time. We must leave.” her mother’s voice rose in pitch.

“Hurry Silvia!” cried her mother as they quickened their pace.

But they were too late; they had been surrounded,

and the noise was getting louder, and

louder.

7KH ÀVKHUPHQ tapped continuously on long poles that extended far beneath them.

They circled Silvia and her mother as well as a pod of dolphins, creating a wall of sound to prevent any escape.

7KH ÀVKHUPHQ QHYHU OHW WKHP FDWFK D moment of rest. Their endless tapping hammered into the dolphins’ heads, making them more and more tired,

until they felt like they’d been swimming for hours or even days.

Without noticing, the dolphins moved closer and closer to the shore.

Once in shallow waters, dolphin calves were roughly pulled away from their mothers.

Families were separated, Silvia and her mother included.

“Mummy, don’t leave me.” Silvia wailed, her heart clenched as she watched her mother being pulled away.

´, ORYH \RX 6LOYLD :H ZLOO ÀQG HDFK other again.”

Her mother fought hard against the restraining hands, but it was no use.

After separation, Silvia was kept in a small pen with four other young dolphins.

Their eyes mirrored her own emotions exactly: complete, utter terror.

The small group was separated again, and another dolphin got taken away.

They watched the humans communicate with each other.

What were they planning?

What are they going to do next?

The humans moved Silvia into a dark, damp and smelly truck.

She was placed in a small container, with wet towels spread out on top of her.

She breathed in shallow breaths, every rattle of the truck feeling like the heavy footsteps of the trainers that put her there.

Alone and scared, she couldn’t forget the frightened screams of baby dolphins like herself.

She arrived too soon at the Tank and was lowered into the water by humans.

She could only think of her lost mother, why was Mummy taken away?

Why isn’t she coming?

Why isn’t Mummy coming back for me?

She was trapped in a life never meant for her: she could no longer FDWFK IUHVK ÀVK VZLP DORQJVLGH WKH currents of the ocean,

and most importantly she would never see her mother again.

Every day, the other dolphins would swim up and down, back and forth, around and around,

ck

performing continuously, just for some praise from a human.

The Tank had windows letting visitors ORRN LQ DW WKH ¶PDJQLÀFHQW· FUHDWXUHV RI the sea. Visitors laughed, screamed and pointed at them.

Their constant tapping on the glass brought Silvia back to the day she was driven inland and separated from her mother.

circl s s le

hey cal l e et d

dr o

dp lac

v he r i e’,

ne .

she

d

m ho

nsa

‘

swa

mi

n e n

was n e r ow he h

conÀne

e

s i h t in o g o t s t o m l a e t r a e h t es

T

“Why is the dolphin not smiling mummy?”

“Why isn’t your dolphin smiling?”

“I’m not sure.

Dolphin! SMILE!”

The aquarium did not feed her well, she had to beg for food as she beached on the shallow side of the tank.

Late one night, when the sky was crystal clear and the stars danced in the sky, the moon shone his light down onto the tank.

“Silvia?” a small voice whispered to her.

The voice was so familiar, it sounded almost like…

“Mummy?” she gasped.

“Silvia, I’m here, open your eyes, let me see you.”

But she didn’t dare to. After so long, she couldn’t believe WKDW D PLUDFOH KDG ÀQDOO\ happened, and she wouldn’t know what to do if it was just a dream.

She peeked from under her eyelids... she saw nothing but the edge of the tank.

“Look up silly, I’m right here.”

Silvia raised her head and there she was.

“Mummy?”

“Come Silvia, I have so much to tell you.”

“Yes, mummy.” she smiled for the ÀUVW WLPH LQ PRQWKV

Together they swam off into the rising sunrise.

“Come Silvia, I have so much to tell you.”

“Yes, mummy.” she smiled for the ÀUVW WLPH LQ PRQWKV

Together they swam off into the rising sunrise.

WannA LearN mOre? Hi, I’m Silvia!

I am a bottlenose dolphin and I’ve got some interesting facts for you, so keep reading and don’t go just yet!

Dolphins live in open waters, and they can be found all across the globe! <RX FDQ ÀQG GROSKLQV LQ ERWK IUHVK DQG VDOWZDWHU HQYLURQPHQWV 7KH 3DFLÀF $WODQWLF DQG ,QGLDQ Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea are all home to dolphins.

2WKHU GROSKLQV OLYH LQ ULYHUV VXFK DV WKH $PD]RQ RU WKH <DQJW]H 5LYHU

Echolocation (part one) Dolphins use echolocation to hunt for food and obtain information about their surroundings. Other marine mammals such as beluga whales, sperm whales and porpoises also use this technique.

This family of mammals are part of the Odontoceti whales.

Echolocation is very important for dolphins, especially at night when there is no light for them to see.

Echolocation (part two) Dolphins produce a series of low and high-frequency sound waves.

Once these waves hit an object, an echo will be formed, causing the sound wave to bounce back to the dolphin. This information allows the dolphin to determine how big, and how far away the object is.

The longer it takes for the echo to return, the further away the object is.

Dolphins also use whistles and clicks to “talk” to each other, as they are very sociable animals.

Phonic Lips

Melon

Sound Wave 7KH ZKLVWOHV DUH DFWXDOO\ IURP WKH GROSKLQ·V IRUHKHDG DV GROSKLQV do not have any vocal cords. Dolphins have two small discs called phonic lips. They slap onto each other when pressure is applied, causing a clicking sound. The sound moves into an organ called the melon, which acts as an acoustic channel that directs the sound out.

'LIIHUHQFHV EHWZHHQ GROSKLQV DQG ÀVK Fish move their tail from side to side, but dolphins move their tail up and down.

Fish breathe through gills, while dolphins breathe through the blowhole at the top of their head.

LocaL

&KLQHVH :KLWH 'ROSKLQV

1DPH ,WV RIÀFLDO QDPH LV &KLQHVH :KLWH 'ROSKLQ &:' EXW LW LV DOVR NQRZQ DV WKH ,QGR SDFLÀF +XPSEDFN 'ROSKLQ RU more commonly as the Pink Dolphin. +DELWDW +RQJ .RQJ &:' OLYH LQ RSHQ water, and they are mostly found near west or north-west of Lantau island.

Food: Fish.

1XPEHUV ,Q WKH\ ZHUH ODEHOOHG DV 9XOQHUDEOH RQ WKH ,8&1 &RQVHUYDWLRQ VWDWXV ZLWK DURXQG OHIW LQ +RQJ .RQJ %\ WKHUH ZHUH OHVV WKDQ GROSKLQV OHIW LQ +. $SSHDUDQFH :KHQ D EDE\ &:' LV ERUQ WKH GROSKLQ FDOI LV JUH\ $V WKH GROSKLQ JURZV ROGHU WKH JUH\ FRORXU JUDGXDOO\ fades away. When the dolphins become active, their blood vessels expand - this is known as vasodilation.

The blood vessels expand because they are trying to lose heat (similarly, we become red when we are hot). The blood vessels near the skin with red blood colour and the white skin FRORXU RI &:' JLYH WKH RYHUDOO SLQN colour!

SpecIes

Finless Porpoise Finless Porpoise

1DPH ,WV RIÀFLDO QDPH LV ,QGR 3DFLÀF )LQOHVV 3RUSRLVH 7KH\ GR QRW KDYH D GRUVDO ÀQ KHQFH WKHLU QDPH ´ÀQOHVVµ SRUSRLVH

+DELWDW )RXQG LQ (DVWHUQ DQG VRXWKHUQ ZDWHUV RI +RQJ .RQJ They are also found in the coastal waters of Bangladesh. )RRG 6TXLG SUDZQV DQG ÀVK 1XPEHUV 8QNQRZQ ,Q WKH\ ZHUH OLVWHG DV 9XOQHUDEOH RQ WKH ,8&1 5HG /LVW 6WDWXV 7KH\ DUH YHU\ GLIÀFXOW WR VSRW because they only come up to the surface for breathing. $SSHDUDQFH 7KH\ DSSHDU URXQG DQG FKXEE\ JUH\ LQ FRORXU and are beakless.

More iNforMatiOn 'ROSKLQ 3URMHFW IRXQGHG E\ 5LF 2·%DUU\ (https://www.dolphinproject.com/) +H LV D IRUPHU GROSKLQ WUDLQHU ZKR KDV QRZ VSHQW RYHU \HDUV DGYRFDWLQJ WR stop dolphin captivity. +H KDV UHVFXHG DQG UHKDELOLWDWHG FDSWLYH dolphins from around the world.

You can check out the Dolphin Project website for more information on how to be a better dolphin defender.

Take the pledge #saynotothedolphinshow on the Dolphin Project website

How Can You Help? ,QVWHDG RI JRLQJ WR D GROSKLQ show, try an eco-tour where you can watch wild dolphins in their own habitat from a safe distance!

5DLVH DZDUHQHVV 7HOO \RXU IULHQGV DQG family what you have read today, and ask them to stop going to dolphin shows!

Thank you for reading!

Please follow @far_draw.phins on Instagram for more information on dolphin captivity and a look into the behind the scenes for this book.

A special thank you to Ms Chauhan, Mrs. Moolchandani, Mr Robson and my dad for all of their help. $QG ÀQDOO\ WR DOO WKH GROSKLQV LQ FDSWLYLW\ \RXU YRLFH KDV EHHQ KHDUG

The Lonely Dolphin First published in Hong Kong, 2021 by Gwulo Text copyright © Sarah Bellis 2021 Illustration copyright © Sarah Bellis 2021 Moral rights asserted ISBN - 978 9887 82769 6 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.