Saturday, 14 January 2023

January 14 - Ocean Wildlife Sightings

Last summer, Lyle and I went on an Alaskan cruise with our daughter and family.  It was great!  We spotted whales, porpoises, sea otters, and even a closeup of a Bald Eagle.  Now when I say “we”, I actually mean “they.”  All this wildlife was too far away for my eyes to see.  For me it was a vicarious experience as I listened to their excited voices describing each new sighting.

In November, while Lyle and I were on a family visit to Australia, we took an adventure cruise out of Port Arthur in Tasmania.  Lyle saw two whales breach right in front of our boat.  He saw sea lions and penguins.  He saw two Albatross, several eagles, and a multitude of other sea birds.  Although he assured me they were fairly close to our little boat, they were still too far away for me.  Nevertheless, with Lyle’s description I felt I could almost see it all.

Now today, I have my own ocean wildlife story to tell - I saw a stingray - close up!  We are in the Caribbean on a cruise.  My friend Shirley and I were standing thigh deep in the water when I heard a woman’s voice call out, “Stop. Don’t move, There is a stingray right behind you!”

Of course, I stopped, but I also turned in time to see a baby stingray brushing against my backside.  I would guess it was about sixty centimetres across.  It was astounding!  It all happened so quickly.  By the time Shirley turned around as well, the stingray had floated away.  Lyle was further up the beach and didn’t see anything either.  This was my own ocean wildlife sighting.

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