Re: [Paddlewise] Whales (long)

Melissa:

I don't question your experience, nor deeply felt love and respect for these
beautiful creatures.  BUT...I  would also remind you of what often befalls
wild  animals "habituated" to human contact. Not everyone appreciates these
remarkable creatures to the extent you do. Someone could possibly feel
"threatened" or even "attacked" by marine mammals that have become
"playfully" attached to other humans. Being approached by large creatures,
underwater while  in a small watercraft, may not be percieved by each and
every paddler as a joyous event or wonderful experience.

Anthropromorphism aside, animal that lose their fear of humankind, usually
suffer fatal consequences. I think the NOAA guidelines are designed to
protect BOTH the marine animals and their "human friends".  The mortality
rate for humans vs. wild animals is, most unfortunately , heavily weighted
against the animal.  Petting the whales, is a kin to feeding the bears. It
may be enjoyable, but not only does it place the "next person" at risk for
unwanted contact with that animal, but definitely jeopardizes the safety and
longevity of the animal itself.

And I doubt you would want to be responsible for the injury or death of your
"friends" in the water, anymore than you would wish to be accountable for
the death of a friend on land.

Rich Dempsey


----- Original Message -----
From: "Melissa Reese" <melissa_at_bonnyweeboaty.net>>
And then there's my personal situation here, where I really do consider
> the local whales to be my friends - and so I do have some mixed
> feelings about this (more on this in a bit)...

(Major snip)
> Now - on to my own situation for a moment...   Obviously, I do
> approach the locals at distances measured in inches rather than
> meters or yards.  Most of the time though, they approach me.  As I've
> said - I do consider these local whales to be "friends" of mine, and
> I generally don't keep 100-200 meters between myself and my friends.
>
(Snip)
> Perhaps I don't strictly follow the official protocols when dealing
> with the local whales (and when I'm by myself), but of course, they
> don't either.  They will approach me, and stay with me for hours, no
> matter where I decide to paddle.  This of course exceeds the "half
> hour limit" for whale watching (or "human watching" in this case).
>
> It may seem hypocritical of me, since I don't always strictly follow
> the "rules", but I do think that the official protocols are a good
> idea, and I wish more people would follow them.  In my case, I've
> become as familiar to the local whales as the thousands of harbor
> seals that they also swim with every day.  I can also easily tell
> when they wish to be left alone (generally, this involves them
> swimming away), and I respect their space and never "chase" after
> them.
>
> Melissa



***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************