MONKEY MIA

Monkey Mia became world famous for the pod of wild bottle nosed dolphins that visit the beach. The site is located 25km east of Denham (Shark Bay) but the original dolphin experience has been ruined by the development of a resort right by the beach.

The dolphins did not suddenly decide to make contact with people, they had been attracted to the area by fisherman who fed them from boats from as early as the 1960s, so the fact that they have become used to people in the area is hardly remarkable.

I have fed a pod of wild dolphins from the back of my boat near Point Peron (Rockingham) and they were inquisitive, and very gentle. Most whales (dolphins are small whales) are gentle and inquisitive in their interaction with humans. It is a shame that the same cannot be said for the human interaction with whales. Sadly humans around the world still slaughter dolphins and their larger cousins for nothing more than greed. The largest member of the dolphin family is the Orca (rather stupidly also called the Killer Whale - we kill things to eat, do we call ourselves Killer Humans? Considering the mayhem we cause perhaps we should.)

At Monkey Mia the whole ‘dolphin experience’ is over regulated and ruined by the number of tourists flocking to the bay. Do the dolphins a favour and stay away, don’t encourage the authorities to exploit these gentle creatures.

All wild dolphins appear to be inquisitive and friendly, thousands are killed every year by tuna boats who drop nets on the pods (knowing that dolphin and tuna regularly travel together).

If you care about the fate of these creatures then DO NOT BUY TUNA unless it is ‘dolphin safe’, send the fishermen broke and save the dolphins from this mindless slaughter.

The name Monkey Mia is a bit of a mystery with some theories stating that it was from a ship called the Monkey and others claiming that Captain Henry Mangles Denham (who surveyed the area in 1858) had a monkey on board as a pet.

The most likely source is the schooner Monkey that anchored in the bay in 1834 while Surveyor Ommanney was charting the area. Mia is an Aboriginal word meaning sleeping or resting place.

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