BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): A pair of Bryde's whales decided to treat tourists to a show in the Andaman Sea off Phang Na province on Wednesday (March 29).
The two giant sea mammals were spotted frolicking in the Similan Islands national park, said Lertsak Ponklin, president of Phang Nga Tourism Business Association.
Tourists aboard a Wow Andaman boat had just left the island of Koh Kao on Wednesday morning when the whales surfaced close to the boat.
The mainly Chinese tourists onboard grabbed phones and cameras and rushed to snap photos of the rare sight. The whales obliged them by hanging around on the surface for about 10 minutes, before diving back into the deep. The boat then continued its trip to the nearby Surin Islands.
Lertsak said Bryde's whales are identifiable by the three ridges on their forehead. Thailand listed the whales as a protected species in 2019.
Sightings of the large creatures, which feed on fish, plankton and squid, are an indication of the richness of local marine resources.
Last month, three Bryde's whales were spotted at Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park off the coast of Surat Thani province in the Gulf of Thailand.
