Dozens of dead dolphins wash up on the shores of Hong Kong each year. Once in a blue moon there might also be a small whale. Occasional a life one gets stranded somewhere. This is the team that studies the dead ones and rescues the life ones.
If this is not interesting enough, consider this. Many of the dead dolphins die not from old age or other natural causes. But from poisoning by heavy metals. Increasingly they die young.
They are mammals and they eat fish. We humans are also mammal and we, particularly us HongKongers, eat fish - the same fish that the dolphins eat.
The HKMLSEC is inside Ocean Park. But it is not open to the regular visitor to Ocean Park. Once a month there are open tours that the public can join, and those are always full.
Our team, led by Dr. PN, is collaborating with the centre on a service-learning projects. Our students are photographing, making videos and otherwise documenting the work at the centre to create online, virtual experiences for the public - students, elderly, … We are using technology to make science more fun and relevant to people, to students, to the public. We hope to do something for the dolphins, and for ourselves. We don’t want to suffer and die young from heavy metals and other pollutants, do we?
Hence we are very interested when their marine biologist explain to us how they scan the dolphins and whales, dead and alive.
How they dissect the dead dolphins and whales on the operation table. Sometimes the bodies are too big for the table, and they have to do it on the floor. And the smell!
How they take samples from the dolphins,
make slides from the samples, and encase them in plastic, for the microscopes.
How they store the samples in refrigerators and freezers.
And a lot more.
The HKMLSEC is unique in Hong Kong, unique in Asia, and very rare even globally. They are doing a fantastic job. And we are very proud to be working with them. Our students seem to be enjoying it too.
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