planet earth
Not only underwater
…the phenomenon of whale & dolphin watching tours
Text and photos jakub banasiak
Meeting a pod of dolphins on the open sea is an exciting moment. It is a wonderful opportunity to admire these marine mammals in all their glory, in order to know their diverse, natural behaviours, and perhaps even to experience a magical time, when they themselves willingly approach our boat. The larger the animal, the greater the experience.
T
52
he endorphins pump in the body, people
There are more and more such tours, there are also
scream with joy, camera shutters click, some-
more ships offering the possibility of encounters
times someone cries out of happiness and elation.
with dolphins and whales. Today, whale watch-
No wonder whale & dolphin watching tours are so
ing is the fastest growing form of ecotourism in
popular and attract crowds of tourists. They are,
the world, with more than 13 million participants
a great and, above all, ethical alternative to visits
each year. Many communities, for example, of the
to dolphinariums and paying there for the slavery
islands of the Pacific and New Zealand, consider
of animals.
whale watching an important part of the national