The Diary of Gon-chan
February 22, 1990: Gon-chan Arrives at Mitsu Fishing Port
A Risso's Dolphin (or Pilot Whale)
which had gotten entangled in a fishing net was brought into the port. Apparently it's a very difficult task to free a trapped animal like this while still at sea, so on occasions, the local fishermen bring a whale in distress home with them. Another reason they bring these whales into the fishing port seems to be the fact that the fishermen merely want to show their children what a whale looks like up close. In any case, the whales that are brought into the harbour usually swim around for a day or two and then head back out to sea, but this particular whale was different. She seemed to be sick and looked at relieved to be in the calm waters of the harbour, and showed no signs of wanting to leave.
(Image care of Kochi Shimbun)
Early in March: Gon-chan Greets Spring
A decision was made to contact the staff at the Katsurahama Aquarium in Kochi City, where they have a False Killer Whale in their care. After a brief inspection of Gon-chan, we found out the reason for her lethargy. She was pregnant.
From the day that we heard this, we visited her at the port every day trying to looking after her the best we could. I would take fresh squid with me to give to her. At first, I was sure that she wouldn't take them directly from my hand, but to my surprise, she did .
However, the local fisherman warned us not to get to friendly with Gon-chan and try to tame her, as they were afraid that she may sustain an injury of some sort if she tried to approach fishing boats in the open sea. It was around this time that we started to call this lost female Risso's Dolphin by the name "Gon-chan".
Gon-chan gave birth during her stay in Mitsu Fishing Port. But unfortunately the calf was stillborn. It seemed as thought the Gon-chan didn't notice this though, as she constantly tried to make her newborn calf swim. When the experts from the aquarium saw this, they decided that it would be best to give her some medication to help forget her loss. They put the medicine into the body of a squid, which we then feed to her.
(Image care of Kyusoku Iwamoto 28.3.90)
Kochi's Newspaper"The Kochi"(28/3/1990)
Early in April: Cheering for Gon-chan
The medication which was given to Gon-chan seemed to help. However, she still made no attempt to leave the port for open sea. We continued to come to the port every day to see how she was doing. Gon-chan always seemed to be in good spirits when we were around, sometimes even doing simple tricks for her attentive audience. It was like she was trying to communicate with us. But we all knew how much she missed her baby, so we were also silently cheering for her happiness and safety on her return to the open sea.
April 15 : The Night Before We Say Goodbye
Tomorrow the whale experts will attempt to take Gon-chan back to the open ocean, so tonight I went and had a last look at her. She was hiding beneath the local fishing boats as if she knew what was in store for her. As if she didn't want to leave her calf behind in the port. I slapped my hand on the water surface, which was a call sign for her. She came slowly towards me, but when she saw that I had no food to offer, she returned to swimming underneath the boats.
April 16 : Farewell to Gon-chan
April 16 was the day when we finally said goodbye to Gon-chan. Gently, she was lifted up in a net and taken back out the open sea off Cape Muroto, where she was released. After spending so much time in the enclosed are of the fishing port, she seemed to be confused at being in the wide, open ocean again. She sunk slowly beneath the waves, as if to check out her new surroundings, surfaced one last time for a final look back at the people on the boat, and then disappeared into the deep blue ocean.
Even today when I go out to sea, I always keep my eye open for pods of Risso's Dolphins, because I am sure that if I ever saw Gon-chan again, I would know straight away. I wonder if she remembers me too....
Kochi's Newspaper"The Kochi"(17/4/1990)
A Picture Book of 'gon-chan'
Come on! Whalefreaks.(Newsgroup)
last update:july 1, 1996/(C)Kochi Pref.