Every woman has their BFF and mine is Ms. Knife.
The scientists call me NL136 but I prefer to go by Bracket; if you look closely at my dorsal fin you will see a bracket shaped mark. Unlike other mothers whose main goal is to raise their kids and ensure that us Chinese White Dolphins have a next generation, I don’t want to have a baby. I’m not belittling mothers, in fact I quite admire their willpower. However, I’ve seen and heard too many terrible stories about our young ones. The water pollution, endless human construction, increase in high speed ferries and other vessels makes it very difficult for a baby to grow up out of harms way. I don’t want to bring a child into a world like this.
Ms. Knife and I have lived with each other since we were kids ourselves. Our mothers were good friends as well and they would often take us to The Brothers Island to play. After we grew up, we continued to roam around North Lantau waters. Since we were young, Ms. Knife was already day dreaming about starting a family and having an adorable child. When the time came, we started looking for mates but most men are irresponsible and will not raise a child with the woman. Thus I decided that if when Ms. Knife has a child, I would help raise him or her. This didn’t happen for a while as Ms. Knife left Hong Kong waters in search for a better environment after the reclamation for Chep Lak Kok Airport began in the 90’s. To be separated from her was painful but I respected her decision only to find her return back to Hong Kong waters shortly because mainland China waters were worse off.
During 2000, Ms. Knife finally found a suitable mate and successfully had a child. Her kid grew up healthy and started her own life after two years. In 2004, Ms. Knife had another child but contrary to our joy the unexpected happened. Her second child passed away at a young age due to an unknown reason. It was heart-breaking watching her go through all the misery and turmoil. Everything took a bad turn and Ms. Knife wanted to leave Hong Kong again. She was finding it difficult face the worsening environment and the place of her child’s death. I begged her to stay because I knew that this time she would be gone forever. We needed her to stay and help fight for our home and our next generation.
The humans now plan to reclaim more land for a third runway and take the last of North Lantau open waters. How can we not do anything when our home is going to be completely destroyed?
Flaws of the Third Runway EIA report (20)
The EIA report recognises that once the construction is complete, the third runway will cause permanent habitat loss to Chinese White Dolphins. However, the habitat loss will actually start when construction starts as the silt curtain will prevent dolphins from using any of the 650 hectare area. By stating that permanent habitat loss only happens after the completion of construction is misleading to the public and this should be corrected in the report. In addition, preventative and mitigation measures for marine life and Chinese White Dolphins should be put in place whilst the construction takes place as well.
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