Harbour Porpoises and Seals
The Minke Whales and the Dolphins have been absent from the bay today though some of them have been spotted far away. On the other hand, the Harbour Porpoises have been using the opportunity to show more of themselves and some of them were spotted jumping which is a very rare sight. One of the smallest marine mammals, the Porpoise is often difficult to spot and is generally shy of boats. Not surprisingly, since it has many enemies and few friends. The Orca will kill and eat it, the Dolphins often attack and kill them without eating them since the Porpoises are competitors for food. Their worst enemy though is probably Earths most dangerous predator, the Human since many Porpoises get tangled up in fishermen’s nets and drown. Even though they escape the nets many of them carry wounds that may eventually kill them.
On a trip later in the day we saw more Harbour Porpoises but the star of the day was a young Seal that succumbed to curiosity and approached the boat and swam around and under it many times to the delight of the crew and passengers, many of which were children. It was remarkable to see a wild animal behave almost like a tamed one and definitely not a sight you see every day. I tore out my hair and beard in exasperation when realising I had forgotten my camera!
