Chinese New Year has just passed and many people welcomed this year as Year of the Pig. You have been fooled. This year has actually been declared Year of the Dolphins. Dolphins are being threatened worldwide by fisheries and bycatch, chemical pollution, ship strikes, noise, disturbance and harassment and many other practices. Several agencies have banded together to declare 2007 as the "Year of the Dolphin" in order highlight their plight, raise awareness and implement practices that will ensure dolphins inhabit our planet until the Vogans destroy Earth to create an Intergalactic Superhighway.
One thing that I learned while doing research was that killer whales or orcas are actually classified as dolphins but misnamed. Also, one species of dolphin is now functionally extinct, the Baiji or Chinese river dolphin, formerly found in the Yangtze River.
One of the sights I hope to experience in my lifetime is seeing dolphins while underwater on a dive. Hopeful because of conscientious divers and this program, this dream can come true.
Not all dolphin species are endangered but let us act now. The eleventh hour is the poorest time to wake up to the reality of the fragility of all species on this planet, Homo sapiens included.
Click here for the Year of the Dolphin official website.
Note: I used the logo without permission. I don't want to tread on copyright laws so if it needs to be taken down I will be more than happy to do so.
