A week has passed since the spark of the controversial butanding picture posted in some of the frequently visited social networking websites. Yes, you remember it right. It was a picture of a young lady happily trying to get on a whale shark. The photograph received numerous hits and shares; it went viral. There was an outrage from the community of animal lovers and wildlife protection organizations as well as those who uphold ethical practices. Criticisms and harsh comments were posted all over the web within days that we have even made it to the international scene.
The photo was said to have been taken in
the town of Boljoon, a municipality in
southern Cebu. It is very near Oslob, which has become famous for the presence
of butandings. Although officials
from both places deny where the picture was taken, I’m pretty sure it was
somewhere at the south of Cebu. The girl in the picture, as well as her family,
defended that they didn’t know it was wrong to touch the whale shark. But it
pretty much seemed more than a touch to me. They thought it was alright as long
as the animals would not be harmed.
These whale sharks are called Tuki in our own dialect, also knowno as butanding in the Filipino language with
the scientific name of Rhincodon typus. They are known to be the largest fish
in the world yet their population is on a decline. The Tuki is a slow swimmer
with markings on its skin and a big mouth. It feeds on planktons and
microscopic organisms.
Despite it being an enormous creature in
the sea, they are not to be afraid of. In fact, they are very friendly,
especially to humans. A testimony of which can be seen from the picture that
have been circling on the internet. They are like dolphins who respond to human
liking and frolic. A smile or a laugh may mean a lot to them. However, they
too, are susceptive to stress and fear.
Nothing in this life is free. Same as
every indication of friendliness has its boundaries and limitations. These poor
creatures enjoy the food given to them by people who shove cameras up their
noses. Like them, we can be friendly because we have the capacity to but
sometimes it’s better to draw the line between being just friends and being
with those who abuse. These poor creatures can’t say a thing. They would have
been feeling worse if they knew that tourists pay the locals P300 pesos just to
see them swim near the coast, as if they owned them.
We blame ignorance for what has happened. "A lot of people either don't know or they don't care.
And that's a problem," stressed Lory Tan, vice president and CEO of the
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the Philippines according to a news report.
The tuki is protected the under RA
9147, an act for the conservation and protection of Wildlife Resources and
Habitats where it is illegal to maltreat or kill this endangered species. According
to the WWF, three rules were violated as shown in that photo of a girl
circulating in social networking sites: One, the use of flash in taking
pictures; two, the touching of the whale sharks; and three, riding on them. I
bet you didn’t know that. There you go, lack of information that leads to
ignorance.
I’m sure by now there are government offices trying to come
up with an efficient manner on regulating those who want view the tuki. It is just sad that, just like the
way we treat any other incident, the improvement comes after the disaster. It’s
never too late I guess.
**Published in the Freeman newspaper on April 10, 2012
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