Back in Taiji…

The past three days have been an absolute whirlwind of emotion for many of us Cove Guardians… In just a few days I think I’ve experienced every emotion under the sun.

Last night when Andy and I returned to our hotel, we were absolutely shocked at the worldwide response that our story had stirred during the 31 hours we’d been gone… Logging onto the internet and seeing messages and emails from hundreds of people all over the world- sending messages of support was surreal. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of those people who supported us during our journey… We returned after 31 hours of no sleep, but were determined to stay awake and tell the world of our ordeal. We have been sending the story worldwide, and are currently in the early stages of getting a story out on CNN News about our journey.

One of the biggest reliefs and achievements from today was that we have located the three Pacific White Sided dolphins having survived their ordeal and were successfully transported… They were transported to Tsukumi Dolphin Island, which is a new dolphinarium in Oita Prefecture, Japan- opening in April. This is one of over one hundred locations in Japan which houses dolphins… many of which source their cetaceans from the Taiji slaughter… The Tsukumi Dolphin Island aquarium currently holds 9 dolphins (not including the Taiji Three), and there is a very big chance that the majority have come from Taiji.

Upon research into the means of travelling to the aquarium from the location where we were stopped by the snow storm, we have found that it was an additonal 4 hours of travelling to get to the aquarium…
We left the truck at 10am, if they had managed to get out of the area an hour or so later, they would have caught the 11:45am ferry to a nearby island (2.5 hours) then continued driving for 1.5 hours to the aquarium. If they missed that ferry, the next one was at 3:35pm. So we can safely say that (due to the dolphins having been in their crates for approx 26 hours by the time we had left them) the total travel time for the dolphins in their crate was a minimum of 30 hours…

Below is a recent photo we have found in an online article of the two trainers that were in the back of the transportation truck, at the aquarium.

In a phone conversation Cove Guardian, Nao had with a worker from the aquarium- it is easy to see that these trainers and other workers do have a passion for dolphins… however it is sad that they have a completely twisted grip on how much their involvement supports the slaughter of thousands of dolphins… One of the workers said that in his opinion, the oceans are so polluted from humans that putting dolphins in captivity and in human ‘care’ is a positive step.
This just shows how much education needs to happen in order for this mindset to be changed… the capture of wild dolphins has an immeasurably negative effect on these animals- and once more and more people see this, the sooner the slaughters and inhumane treatment of these animals will stop.

This morning, 6-8 Risso’s dolphins were herded into the killing cove of Taiji and slaughtered. Sitting at the Cove this morning was a brutal reminder for me after 2 solid days driving across the country following a truck full of dolphins which were captured here of the immensity of the slaughter.

Below is the ‘full story’ of our journey across Japan following the truck. Please watch the video and share it to everyone you know!

For those of you who are still interested in sending in a video entry or photo for my Youth Project, you still have time! Originally I was hoping to get all submissions by today, however I have new plans for the video which will hopefully include a return trip to Japan within the next few months, which allows for me to gain many more videos! So PLEASE if you have not yet sent in a video, there is still plenty of time! In the next few days I will update you all here on my plans for the project…

After three days and only about six hours sleep, the exhaustion has started to really set in, and I am very much looking forward to getting the first good night’s sleep in what feels like forever! Thankyou all once again for the amazing support!

If you want to stand up and help us end the slaughter: Please help us put pressure upon the Japanese government and embassys worldwide- let them know that you oppose the slaughter by calling and emailing. Also, please become involved in my ‘Youth Project’ and tell your friends!

Don’t forget to keep sending in your questions to pathtoprotect@hotmail.com for me to answer in my video blogs!

You can follow my videos here on this blogpage (which I will continue to update every day) as well as my Youtube Channel…
Also, don’t forget to add me as a friend on Facebook if you haven’t yet- for regular updates, photos, information and videos from the Cove.

Thankyou everyone for your continued support, and positive feedback! We all really appreciate it!
On the path to protect,
Nicole.