Piercing the water’s surface with its almond-shaped mouth, a giant Bryde’s whale opens wide for one, two, three seconds, gulping in anchovies as a boatload of awed tourist look on in the Gulf of Thailand. It’s a rare glimpse of marine life in its natural habitat, in a kingdom overrun with mass tourist attractions such as aquariums and dolphin shows. Once a dream for scuba divers, many of Thailand’s coral reefs have been dulled by pollution, over-fishing and increased boat traffic, as well as over-enthusiastic swimmers.

Thouvenot, D. (2016, December 14). Whales in the wild: rare gem amid Thailand's mass tourism. Manila Standard, p. B4.