A Cove Dolphin

• Emma Fewster, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2013

Every year thousands of dolphins are killed in Taiji, Japan in a well known place known as the cove. A cruel and unnecessary operation brings these beautiful creatures much pain and distress as they near there deaths. This is a story told in a possible perspective of one of these dolphins.

It was at that moment that everything seemed to unravel, just like a wave in the ocean. I could hear the screams, not just from my pod but from other dolphin pods as I swam away. These big creatures that seemed to float up above on top of the water had animals in them that were killing us. Everyone was distressed, surrounded by the screaming cries for help. The once rich blue water had turned a deep blood red colour. The blood from the deaths of the dolphins was staining this once clear ocean cove. Beforehand I had tried to keep close by my mother’s side, who was also very anxious as to why we were being forcefully merged with other dolphins into some barrier with strange walls. All I had wanted was to feel the comfort of being safe in the middle of my pod once more and to be roaming free. That was not an option. I can still recall every moment. This was to be the day I would never forget for the rest of my

The day had begun as it usually did, deep blue waves rippled below the late morning sunshine that shimmered on the water which was not to warm but not cold enough to cause my pod discomfort. Well not my pod, I was a rookie as all young dolphins are, but that pod I’d been swimming with forever. I'm male so I will have to leave very shortly once I'm weaned and join another pod, or create one of my own, unlike mum who got to and did choose to remain in her mums pod. You see pods are just like families. They aren't just a random group of dolphins swimming together. We stay together because we want to.

We had been moving along in search of more food in the hope we would find somewhere with enough to stay put for awhile. I had been glad because with all that travelling I had been unable to play with two of the youngsters. When I became bored I would spin around in the middle of the pod, where I knew I was always safe and protected. But on this particular day that was no longer mattered. One minute we were swimming then the next we were being herded closer with other dolphins. That was to be the last time I would see any of the pod. These creatures were strange and dangerous; we had all sensed the trouble we were in. My fate would have remained the same as the other dolphins if it hadn’t been for my mother. I know she is what saved me. She encouraged me to go the opposite way of the danger that lay ahead. Because I was a juvenile maybe she knew that none of the other dolphins would follow me so I would have a better chance of escaping unnoticed. So I swam my heart out, and not once did I look back. I smelled the blood, heard the screams and sensed the pain they were experiencing by these horrible strange animals that were acting heartlessly and cruel.

Unbelievably I escaped that day. However I still ache and mourn over my pod. I know their deaths were slow and painful. I go back to that moment trying to make sense and come to an understanding of what happened. However I cannot. Why did those creatures bring pain to my pod and so many others? Did it really have to be that way?