Tharrrr she blows!

Saturday, 21 January 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Its blow is a slender vertical column of spray rising to 30 feet in height, comparable to a three storey building, its heart the size of a small car. Weighing in at over 100 tons with its body spanning over 30m in length, the Blue Whale is the largest creature to have ever lived. Seeing a Blue Whale in the wild is any wildlife lover’s ultimate dream. Hunted to near extinction, the Blue Whales despite being wide-spread were elusive and in areas around Baja California in the USA, Mexico, Canada and Iceland, where sightings did occur, they were usually from live-aboard vessels typically restricted to film crews and researchers, which required being out at sea for several days to weeks at a time.

Off Mirissa in Southern Sri Lanka however, it is a complete contrast where during the season between the months of December to April, Blue Whales are encountered on almost a daily basis on half-day excursions just a few nautical miles out from the land.

During such outings from Mirissa, pods of acrobatic and highly sociable Spinner Dolphins sometimes numbering in their hundreds are seen on most mornings and migrating Sperm Whales too are a possibility.

Since commercial whale watching began in Mirissa in April 2008, its popularity has soared and ‘The Blue Whale story’ has emerged as one of the biggest and most positive stories for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry in recent years.

Tourists, journalists, wildlife photographers and film crews from all corners of the globe flock to Mirissa in ever increasing numbers each year for the whale watching. As a part of this year’s Galle Literary Festival, Jetwing Lighthouse, a platinum sponsor of the event since its inception in 2007 and a key player in branding Sri Lanka as a whale watching hotspot has planned events centered around whale watching. On Friday, 20 January, Jetwing Hotels Assistant Manager Nature and Community Projects and a keen wildlife photographer Riaz Cader, made a presentation titled ‘Sri Lanka – Best for Blue’ describing the sequence of events which led to Sri Lanka being branded today as the best place in the world for watching Blue Whales.

The talk will take place from 4p.m. to 5p.m. at the Galle Room in Jetwing Lighthouse and will be a free event to attend.

Visitors to Jetwing Lighthouse may also see the newly opened Jetwing Whale and Dolphin Watching Center, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka which is aimed at educating and creating awareness on cetaceans.

Anoma Alagiyawadu, resident naturalist at Jetwing Lighthouse and one of the country’s experts on marine mammals, who is currently closing in on his 500th excursion will lead a special Whale Watch today (21). The Literary Festival weekend whale watch has been a sell-out over the past few years and this year’s event will be no different. To reserve your passes for the whale watch, please contact Anoma on 0777 265 730 or Jetwing Lighthouse on 091 222 3744.

Prices are fixed at Rs. 6,000 per person for those travelling directly to Mirissa and Rs. 8,000 per person for those requiring return transport from Jetwing Lighthouse.