Letter to Sports Unlimited
To the producers and crew of Sports Unlimited,
Thank you for your feature on the whalesharks of Donsol aired last July 15, 2006 at ABS CBN. It brought memories when I too, was enamored by the awesome creature, the whalesharks or butanding when I got a chance to visit the small fishing village of Donsol, Sorsogon summer of 2002.
I would just like to call your attention on my observations on that specific episode. I utterly agree that the preservation of the whalesharks lies on how we respect and care for them. However, contrary to the episode's narration, the visual showed otherwise. I have noticed that hosts, particularly Mr. Mark Nelson and other guests swam too close to the whaleshark almost to the point of touching the animal. The first rule in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) orientation is to swim at least three (3) meters away so as not to disturb the path of the animal and their environment. I give the benefit that Mr. Nelson and others must have been so enchanted that they forgot the basic guidelines. I understand that the magnificence of these gentle giants have this effect on people. But this should not preclude them from following the rules. This gives the wrong impression that visitors can imitate Mr. Nelson’s actions. I assume that the staff and crew of the show also attended the orientation. They should have reminded Mr. Nelson and the others to keep their distance and follow the rules. I am also surprised that the Butanding Interaction Officers (BIOs) allowed these people to swim that close to the whalesharks. Let us remember that we are just visitors to their home. And just like any visitor, we should respect our hosts’ home and personal space.
While I admire the shows contribution in promoting sports, tourism and environment preservation. I also believe that the show has a responsibility to set a good example on conducting themselves when they are in a certain environment.
I sincerely hope that above observation is taken constructively. I have great respects for the creative and hardworking people behind the show.
Thank you and more power.
Armi
Thank you for your feature on the whalesharks of Donsol aired last July 15, 2006 at ABS CBN. It brought memories when I too, was enamored by the awesome creature, the whalesharks or butanding when I got a chance to visit the small fishing village of Donsol, Sorsogon summer of 2002.
I would just like to call your attention on my observations on that specific episode. I utterly agree that the preservation of the whalesharks lies on how we respect and care for them. However, contrary to the episode's narration, the visual showed otherwise. I have noticed that hosts, particularly Mr. Mark Nelson and other guests swam too close to the whaleshark almost to the point of touching the animal. The first rule in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) orientation is to swim at least three (3) meters away so as not to disturb the path of the animal and their environment. I give the benefit that Mr. Nelson and others must have been so enchanted that they forgot the basic guidelines. I understand that the magnificence of these gentle giants have this effect on people. But this should not preclude them from following the rules. This gives the wrong impression that visitors can imitate Mr. Nelson’s actions. I assume that the staff and crew of the show also attended the orientation. They should have reminded Mr. Nelson and the others to keep their distance and follow the rules. I am also surprised that the Butanding Interaction Officers (BIOs) allowed these people to swim that close to the whalesharks. Let us remember that we are just visitors to their home. And just like any visitor, we should respect our hosts’ home and personal space.
While I admire the shows contribution in promoting sports, tourism and environment preservation. I also believe that the show has a responsibility to set a good example on conducting themselves when they are in a certain environment.
I sincerely hope that above observation is taken constructively. I have great respects for the creative and hardworking people behind the show.
Thank you and more power.
Armi
posted by armikins @ 5:39 PM
1 Comments:
At 3:56 AM,
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