Palm | Kelapa Sawit

Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 8 Jan 13;

CLOSE ENCOUNTER: Mammals’ sighting goes viral on social media

KOTA KINABALU: PICTURES of dolphins swimming and frolicking at sea near Gaya Island near here went viral on Facebook and Twitter, attracting hundreds of comments.

The mammals were first spotted by Borneo Dream Travel and Tours staff and customers on Thursday while another pod was sighted two days later.

An expert on marine mammals, Dr Lindsay Porter, said her recent study in the proposed Tun Mustapha marine park showed that the presence of dolphins in Kudat waters occurred sporadically.

"They are largely visitors from further offshore. This appears similar to what occurs in Kota Kinabalu waters and Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP).

"As dolphins appear only sporadically, it is difficult to figure out what influences the dolphins' movements," she told the New Straits Times.

Porter, who works with the World Wide Fund for Nature, also deals with whales, porpoises and dugongs. She said that the dolphins' appearance in local waters was unlike the dugongs which rely exclusively on sea grass habitat that is located inshore.

According to her, dugongs (commonly known as sea cows) were seen relatively regularly off Kudat as well as Mantanani island where one or two species have lived for years.

"Two dolphin species are found in the waters off Kinabatangan, and it is possible to better understand how the mammals interact with the environment.

"Kinabatangan dolphins are influenced by the flow of the river which means they occur where fresh water and the sea converge."

Porter said that changing weather patterns would have a greater effect on Kinabatangan dolphins compared with "visiting" dolphins which occur in waters off Kota Kinabalu and Kudat.

Borneo Dream director and professional diver Joanne Cotterill, said any sighting in or near TARP was a surprise and "a very lucky one".

She said these mammals were normally found further offshore in deeper waters where there was ideally more abundant fish life for them.

"I am continually surprised by the amazing marine life we come across in TARP. Our staff and guests had the pleasure of watching a pod of around 20 dolphins near Gaya Island (on Thursday).

"They were swimming in two groups. We were indeed lucky to have a close encounter with the dolphins at the start of our snorkelling and diving trip."

As for whale sharks, Cotterill said the migration season along the West coast of Sabah was between January and March.

Many divers were now anticipating the presence of this slow-moving filter feeding shark where they were known to follow a typical migration path.

"How long they spend here is impacted by plankton blooms.

"We had three sightings last year near Sapi Island but most sightings occur on the north side of Gaya Island where the plankton congregates as a result of the underlying tides."