The wild life encounter.

When I was a kid, I have this fear of huge underwater creatures- dolphins aside...haha well particularly sharks!!..I mean, who isn't right? Growing up in the island of Sulu, I heard a lot of scary stories about it. It gives me nightmares as a matter of fact. With the help of Discovery Channel and Nat Geo, I got to know sharks in a different light. Although, they are stills scary and outrageously dangerous, fascination comes tickling in. I actually want to see one, but I demand to be put in a steel cage...hahaha I also came to know that sharks has a lot of kind, and guess what!?...I came to experience being not less than 5 meters away from one. Look!

Before getting into the canoe, you need to go through the orientation. They need to make sure the sharks are well-protected and that visitors would not make them feel in danger.

A shiver of Whale Sharks or Tuki- as what the locals call it, all of a sudden reached the shores of Oslob, Cebu City one morning. This municipality's main source of income is primarily fishing.  So imagine the fear of the first fisherman who encounter them!..hahaha It then became the talk of the town, then later became the talk of the country.

The so so excited us!!

They were hoping they would flee the next day because they are all gone after 12:00 noon. They were wrong, The shiver came back the next morning, and the day after, and the week after. It became a habit for them to come back to shore every single day. There might be enough source of food on that part of the sea...:)

It then affected the fishing of the locals. The government then should find a remedy to the sort of problem they have with the sharks and the effect it has on the local's source of income.

The plankton are now in trouble...hehe

They can't afford to drive away these lovely creatures. What they came up was awesome. They protected the sharks and feed them whenever they are on shore. They then allow to people come see them do the feeding...good one!

My heart jolted when I saw this.

It's so near and fascinating that I wanted to hug it and take it home with me....hehe

I took and savoured every moment I have with these beauty.

The imitator me...hehe

I plunge into the deep water below to exactly see how they look like and how big they are. It was so amazing how they can be so gigantic, yet so gentle.

It's time to go. Happy visitors we are..:)

We have a new boatman-woman...hehe

The photographer Walter Grapa. Kudos to him for a job well done. The photos are just so amazingly good.. (wink!)...:)

Our one and only family photo...hehe

Time to go guys...The sun is coming up, sunblock lotions and creams are not allowed here...:)

After all the fascination and fun I had with Tuki, the inner save-the-sea part of me is on high again. It makes me really think of ways on how to do our part on coastal protection. I came to understand that these creatures exist to balance the ecosystem. Their teeth are harder and bigger that ours. They appear scary and ferocious, but hey who isn't? We too are somehow a threat to them. That is how they are made naturally, but that doesn't mean they can't accept care and protection, right? We humans are still the leader of the pack...xx!