Taiwan whale-watching trips
In Taiwan at end-May I did four whale-watching trips out of Hualien and one out of Wushih Harbour (Toucheng). Highlights were a pair of Cuvier’s Beaked Whale and one Dwarf Sperm Whale. I posted site reports here:
Hualien: https://www.pacapix.com/taiwan-hualien-cetacea/
Toucheng: https://www.pacapix.com/taiwan-toucheng-cetacea/
Paul Carter
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Paul Carter
2 Comments
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Evan
I’m apparently also so out of the loop that I didn’t know about that flying fox spot, so thanks for letting us know! Last I heard, they were quite rare in Taiwan, at least on the main island. So it wouldn’t surprise me if the spot you mentioned is the only reliable place to find them outside of Japan (I think I recall them being common on Iriomote).
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Evan
Very cool – thanks for the report, Paul! I sometimes live in southwestern Taiwan, and would like to try the Hualien whalewatching boats when I can get out to that side of the island sometime. I did the Toucheng tour once c. 2013 and only saw Spinner Dolphins, but the it was a lifer with great views (several surfed our boat’s bow wave for a long time), so I wasn’t complaining. I remember the operators did a funny light bait-and-switch (this was in Chinese, so I don’t know if they manage an equivalent in English): The booking center was advertised as “whalewatching”, and once I got the desk they started calling it “whale/dolphin watching”, then by the time I got in the boat they were telling us “This’ll be fun, if we’re lucky we’ll spot some dolphins!”