The latest evidence: two fin whales enjoying the waters off the port of Marseilles.
The graceful pair of fin whales was filmed Tuesday in waters off the Calanques national park, a protected reserve of outstanding natural beauty next to the usually bustling but now locked-down Mediterranean port city of Marseille.
Didier Reault, who heads the park board, says it is “very, very rare” for fin whales to be spotted and filmed at such close quarters in the reserve’s waters. The whales usually stay further out in deeper Mediterranean waters but seem to have been drawn in by the lockdown-driven freeze on maritime traffic, water sports, pleasure fishing and pleasure craft, Reault said.
“The absence of human activity means the whales are far more serene, calm and confident about rediscovering their playground that they abandon when there is maritime traffic,” Reault told The Associated Press.
It must be such a strange time to be a marine mammal, and to suddenly enjoy oceans mostly free of human ship traffic and noise. It will be equally confusing when all the noise and intrusion suddenly starts up again.
If only we could be inspired by what we seeing with flourishing wildlife, and reductions in carbon and pollution all over the planet, to do everything just a bit (well, alot) differently.
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