On the Trail: Visitors blush at the site of our local and faraway dolphins of Old Hong Kong
31.01.2007, 10:47
Can Dolphins blush or get embarrassed? Can they change colors depending on mood, environment and changing amounts of salinity in the water?
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With one of the most nutrient-rich eco systems in the world, can it be any wonder that the bottle nose dolphin we all know as “Flipper” calls Marco and the Ten Thousand islands home? The dolphins that live in our local waterways and the adjoining Gulf are the Atlantic’s bottle nose dolphins, and in our land of sub-tropical paradise, the local “Flippers” have more fish than they can eat, plenty of time for play, and are safely protected by state and federal governments as animals of special concern.
Many boating excursions in Southwest Florida are famous for taking visitors out on the water to catch a glimpse of our permanent aquatic residents as they show their sleek and beautiful bodies and their ever-so-smooth light grey skin.
On the other side of the globe, however, near the old China traders’ haven of Hong Kong, there is a cousin of our local flipper that is not grey but pink. The “blush” dolphins of Old Hong Kong are a famous attraction in the waters near the Hong Kong archipelago. Just as locals and tourists alike are charmed and intrigued by our own “Flippers,” the pink dolphins of the South China Sea are a unique way to escape the skyscrapers, bustling streets and the ever-present crowding that is modern-day Hong Kong.
According to information offered by the Hong Kong dolphin-watch fact sheet, the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins are grey when they are born, but after about a year, they begin to turn as pink as bubblegum. The bright color of pink is a result of blood rushing to the pink “Flippers” extremities in a unique method of regulating internal heat.