Changing Attitudes

Changing Attitudes

by

Rob Read

Above: A Common Dolphin within touching distance - an amazing experience. ©Rob Read

For those of you that have been reading the blog for a while will know that A Wild Read started life as Purple Crow, its aim being to celebrate the wonder of nature and inspire people to care. I have deliberately steered it away from the more controversial topics as there are plenty of others out there that do that job much better than I ever could.

However, every now and again I’m tempted to go off-piste a little and write something more hard-hitting. The recent scenes from the Faroe Islands showing an unprecedented number of Atlantic White-sided Dolphins being slaughtered in the name of ‘tradition’ has got me more than a little agitated. I have steadied my hand and resolved not to employ the acrid pen, but instead to celebrate one of my experiences with what are the most intelligent and wonderful animals we have the privilege of sharing our planet with.

Above: Feeding gannets often follow Dolphin pods in order to locate food. ©Rob Read.

For those of you who have never visited the Isles of Scilly, then I recommend that you experience these wonderful islands at least once in your lifetime. I remember the first time I went a few years ago and it’s a trip that will live long in my memory. Although you can take a short flight to get there, in my opinion nothing beats taking the Scillonian, the regular ferry service from Penzance. If you have good weather, then stay on deck in the open air and take in the stunning coastline of Cornwall as head out into open water, past Wolf Rock Lighthouse and onto this wonderful archipelago. Dolphins, Whales and even Tuna may put in an appearance alongside the many species of seabirds one can enjoy as the boat sails along. But the Scillonian is a large boat and close views of these animals aren’t easy and I wanted an experience that got me up close and personal. Fortunately help was at hand in the shape of the very friends I was staying with who own a RIB and run boat trips around the islands.

On one memorable afternoon we had headed out into the open ocean, Bishop’s Rock Lighthouse looming large on the horizon. A flock of diving Gannets attracted our attention, they often follow Dolphins in order to pinpoint food, and it wasn’t long before a pod of Common Dolphins was playfully riding the bow wave of the boat as we motored along. The beauty of the RIB is that it rides low in the water, so you can literally lean over the side and dunk your hands in the Atlantic. This put us so close to our new marine friends and we spent a wonderful 30 minutes or so as they leapt and played alongside, only feet from us. I have referred to these experiences before as nature’s Prozac, and I was on a high for hours afterwards! I challenge anyone not to feel utterly elated after an encounter like this.

It struck me that my experience was a great example of using nature in a sustainable way. Exploitation of our wildlife is mainly driven by financial gain and is used to support local economies or simply because ‘it has always been done that way’. By demonstrating that there are alternatives, perhaps we can make a difference and not only alter attitudes, but the fate of many of the species we share the planet with. Far better to earn a living from taking people to see, experience and photograph living wildlife, than killing them in the name of sport or to exploit a finite resource for its physical constituent parts. I’d argue that the former option is not only good news for wildlife, but better for all of us and far more sustainable in the long term.

Rob Read. September 2021.

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