A Whale of a Museum in Mati

Subangan Museum in Mati City, Davao Oriental has recently been opened to the public. And it should be a major reason to visit the destination because of this giant, 50+ footer, well-preserved skeleton of a Sperm Whale. Named Davor (guess why? - hmmm....), I acted like a child when I saw a glimpse of the whale even before I entered the museum when it was under construction.

Run here! run there! shake hands, peep through bone spaces.... what a way to end my visit to Mati City!

I'm imagining the big crowds of school kids and Pinoys ogling in awe at Davor when they visit the museum.

Of course, when in Mati, there's a perfect excuse then to visit other places like Dahican Beach and other towns with waterfalls, great views, beaches, islands, dolphin watching, turtle watching, a chance to see dugongs, eating fresh seafood.... uh, I'm starting to get nostalgic!

When you're in Davao City, try to allot one day or more to visit Mati City.

An awesome view of the 54-footer giant!

My.... what big teeth you have!

Shaking hands with a giant. Well, a dead giant. But a giant nonetheless.

Under the belly of the beast.... literally!

This shot makes it look like a fully-armored sperm...... whale.

The museum has a huge wall photo of Mt. Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental. A soon-to-be UNESCO World Heritage site. With crossed fingers! We will know if it makes the cut a few months from now.


Here's a little trivia. The "Sperm" in Sperm Whale does not have any tiny bit of relation to that microscopic thing called spermatozoa (google it! haha!). The 'forehead' or what we actually call the melon of marine  mammals, contains materials that were used to be made into candles in the old, whale harpooning days. If you experienced a power outage (brown out, blackout) try to look at the label of the candle you will be lighting. Chances are, there's a word there that says, "sperma." Yup, Sperm came from sperma that became a candle! But the candle manufacturers don't do that anymore. And only barbarians kill whales and dolphins today for whatever stupid reason they have.

Sperm Whales!!

Recently came back from birdwatching (i know, they're quite different from marine mammals...ha ha) sortie in the municipality of Sablayan in Occ. Mindoro when we chanced upon two pods (groups) of sperm whales!!

The last time I saw sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Philippine waters was way back in 1995.

The most amazing thing about these guys in Mindoro was we encountered one pod of six whales in the morning. It had two calves in that group. Then on our way back from Apo Reef, we encountered another pod of 9 whales! This time, with only 1 calf. It could possibly be only one pod. But hey, we saw 9(!) whales!

It was also a good thing that they had calves which prevented the whales from diving very deep. Usually, when you see a sperm whale on the surface, it will stay there only for a few minutes. It will keep blowing air (expunging carbon dioxide while taking in oxygen), then it will dive very deep (as deep as 1,000 meters) to its feeding ground. The ones in Mindoro just kept on swimming in big circles! With some coming within ten feet from our boat!

Whale watching is not not yet an established tourist activity in the Philippines. But I'm counting the years since killing was made into a crime (which was bout 15 years ago). A few more years and the whale populations would jump back and this country could then offer this magnificent creature, not on a sushi platter, but for enthusiastic whale lovers. We've done that for the dolphins, it should also be possible for the gentle giants.


Three sperm whales that swim in tight pack.


The one in the middle is actually a calf, protected by bigger members of the pod.


A blowhole up close.