Indonesia
Indonesia is an amazing place to visit. It one of the most beautiful places you can go to and, other than its gorgeous environments, it also has an amazing history rich with culture.
But with the beauty also comes danger. The beautiful views come with beautiful wildlife, but they can often be dangerous animals. Especially if these animals are on the hunt for food. This story shows how hazardous Indonesia’s waters can be.
The Archipelago
World Atlas
Indonesia is more than just a country. It’s a huge archipelago that spans 18,307 islands where 6,000 of them are uninhabited. People generally don’t understand the scale of Indonesia and its islands.
The islands make amazing places to venture and explore and has gorgeous wildlife. It’s not surprising then that many people have made it a goal to visit Indonesia before they die.
Diverse Marine Life
UN Environment Programme
Indonesia is beset on all sides by the Indian Ocean and has huge biodiversity both with marine life and terrestrial life. Indonesia the third after Colombia and Brazil when it comes to biodiversity.
The only country that trumps Indonesia when it comes to marine diversity is Australia. Tourists who visit Indonesia can see extraordinary sea life like Mola Molas, mantas, Loggerhead turtles, and Harlequin ghostfish, all of which cannot be found anywhere else.
Beaches
Touropia Travel Experts
Indonesia is renowned for its wonderful clear water and white sandy beaches. Tourists often come for the beaches alone which means people have come to the area looking for a different thrill.
Indonesia has one more thing that it’s known for. If you don’t know what it is you might be surprised.
Diving
Parks Not For Sale
With all that clear water and incredible marine life, Indonesia had become a hotspot for tourists who like the thrill of diving. It’s rapidly becoming the most popular place to dive anywhere in the world.
Millions of people come every year to get the unique experiences that Indonesia has to offer. Julian Dunggio was one such tourist and wanted an experience unlike any other. Well, let’s just say that he got what he wanted.
Fishing
Imgur
Tourists love to go to the remote islands in Indonesia and love the unique experience they get with the diving trip. Tourists are never disappointed with the memories they go back home with.
Every year fishing boats are happy to bring tourists so they can enjoy the diving. But even so, these waters can be dangerous for them. With such big biodiversity, there are many marine animals that could harm you.
Julian Dunggio
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
This wasn’t Julian Dunggio’s first time diving, not by a long shot. He had dived many times before and knew what he was doing. He had started diving when he was a teenager and had grown to love it ever since.
When he finished school he made the decision that he would start diving for his livelihood. He planned to earn a living off of his passion and would make it work any way he could.
The Waters Of Gorontalo
Observer
When Dunggio was financially stable enough he moved to a region of Indonesia called Gorontalo which is close to mountainous terrain. The area has beautiful views of the clear ocean spilling between the small islands.
Olele Marine Park and Saronde Island are Gorontalo’s biggest tourist destinations. They both have great diving spots which bring many thousands of tourists every year. It’s one of Indonesia’s biggest growing tourism.
The Job Of His Dream
Blue Planet Diving
After moving to Gorontalo Julian found work that he thought was only possible in his dreams. He would take tourists out to open water where they could dive to their heart’s content. He was ecstatic he’d be able to make a living off of his passion.
Julian soon learned what the best diving spots were and took tourists there for their pleasure. Here the tourists would get to see the amazing marine life that the water had to offer. But this also meant there was something to surprise even Julian.
Tours
Salvador Diving
Whales often like to swim close to the shores of the islands in Gorontalo. This means that they sometimes appear on even the most popular beaches.
Diving near these beaches means that one can often witness an amazing spectacle. Tourists can see the whales in their natural environment going about their business. But it’s not only whales that hide underneath the surface.
Something Different
GetMyBoat
On the day in question, however, Julian decided that he would do something different. Instead of going out on a normal, everyday diving trip, he opted to go along with a fishing expedition.
The local fishermen catch a wide variety of fish in the massive nets that they throw into the waters. These fish are then taken to be sold at the local market. It was while on this fishing trip that Julian would come across something highly unexpected sight.
Boat Ride
WhaleStrandingIndonesia
As usual, Julian was getting ready to take the tourists on the boat to experience the ‘wild sea’ they had been entering. However, he was not prepared for what they were about to experience.
When he noticed something moving under the water, Julian got excited. However, he hadn’t realized exactly what he had seen yet. What Julian was about to discover was that this was not something he had ever expected or prepared for.
Experienced Diver
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
The weird thing about this is the fact that the animal which was moving underwater appeared to stay in one place.
Julian is an experienced diver who isn’t afraid of going under the ocean’s waves. As you can imagine, he was very curious about the animal that attracted everyone’s attention…
Curiosity
TVNZ
Curiosity got the best of Julian and he decided to check out what type of animal was causing so much commotion.
Without giving it any second thought, the diver jumped into the water in hopes of finding out what’s going on with that animal. The tourists were stunned!
The Experience of a Lifetime!
Imgur
What was under the boat? Before jumping in, the tourists were advising Julian not to go into the water because they could see a huge fin popping out. Was it a shark?
Little did Julian know, he was in for the experience of a lifetime!
Huge Fin
Imgur
The tourists held their breaths as they watched Julian jump. They were afraid that it might be a shark that had gotten tangled in some fisherman’s line and that it would attack Julian.
However, Julian didn’t listen to what they had to say and did THIS…
Needing Help
Imgur
In an interview with the media, Julian explained that no matter how dangerous that animal he would cross paths with was, he would still help it out. Thankfully, the animal was not a killer shark.
However, it was a huge orca that could have killed him with a flip of a tail!
Ferocious Predators
Tenerife Forum
Orcas are widely regarded as the most dangerous marine mammal. They can weigh up to 6 tons, grow up to 23 feet long, and they are one of the oceans’ most ferocious predators. Even though they’re not as threatening to humans as sharks, you should still steer clear from them!
However, Dunggio realized that something was wrong with the creature, so he stepped in.
The Orca Was Stuck
Imgur
The poor creature appeared to be stuck and that is why it stayed in one place. Julian saw fishing lines wrapped around it, and called one of his fisherman friends to help him out.
Here’s how the orca got stuck. You will not believe what happened next!
Tangled Orca
Facebook.com: WhaleStrandingIndonesia
As risky as this mission was, Julian knew that he needed to untangle the orca if he wanted the poor animal to survive. The orca was close to the boat, but they had to get closer so that they could help her.
She got scared and tried to scare her rescuers… The tourists had never seen something like this!
Dangerous Situation
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
The orca got scared when it saw the boat come closer and it started blowing water as if to scare Julian away.
Luckily, Julian did not bow out and he decided to start untangling the fishing line that held the orca in place. He had no idea how the creature would react during that time…
Calming the Orca
Facebook.com/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
Julian noticed that the orca was getting scared and he wanted to calm it down. We all know how to calm a dog or a cat, but an orca? What do you do to make her feel safe?
Julian had to try something, so he decided to head over to its fin and start petting it…
The Orca Stopped Moving!
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
As risky as this move was, it worked! The orca stopped moving around and allowed Julian and his friends to help it out.
As he cut through the fishing lines, Julian realized that he had to do something far more dangerous. The tourists were left awestruck!
Julian Goes Underwater
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
At one moment Julian disappeared underwater and everyone got scared. The tourist who was filming this incredible moment thought that Julian had been hit by the orca.
Fortunately, though, that was not the case! What was Julian doing underwater?
Untangling The Fishing Line
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
Julian took a big breath of air and dipped under the orca to start cutting the fishing line. This shows us just how brave the hero of our story is, because we can be sure that not everyone would have had the courage to do that.
What the orca did after she was set free is unbelievable!
Whale Stranding Indonesia
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
Whale Stranding Indonesia posted this video on their Facebook page explaining that this orca was entangled.
“The fishers chose to rip their fishing net (and thus lost the two tonnes of fish they had caught earlier) to rescue the orca”, the post read.
It Didn’t Stop There
Ninja Journalist
So thanks to Julian’s gut and courage, the magnificent creature was free once again! But instants later, the diver noticed something strange.
It turns out that there were further problems yet to be solved!
Helping Stick
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
The orca was freed from the fishing wire, but still did not move! That is when Julian pulled out a huge stick in order to push it away from the boat.
The orca had no idea that it was finally free and it did not even try to move away. Do you think the trick with the stick worked?
Slowly Moving Away
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
It seems like the orca understood that it was free and it slowly started moving its tail. The orca was getting away from the boat and everyone on the boat started clapping.
This was an amazing moment and everyone was happy to see that Julian had fulfilled his goal to perfection!
An Amazing Moment
Facebook.com/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
I am sure that the tourists who got on the boat with Julian were never expecting this to ever happen.
Although I bet they felt they received their money’s full worth for taking this amazing boat ride.
Finally Free
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
Freeing the tangled orca was no easy task, but it was all worth it in the end!
Julian showed to the entire world that he is brave and that his love for wild animals is great.
Swimming Away
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
As soon as it realized that it had been freed, the orca didn’t waste any more time and it started swimming away.
Julian didn’t need any thanks or show of gratitude because he knew in his heart that the orca would live because of his actions.
Orcas’ True Nature
Art Station
The news went viral and people all over the world were baffled by what Dunggio had done. However, the hero of our story doesn’t regret having acted that way, in spite of the danger he exposed himself to.
On the contrary, he believes that this story will help shed light on the fact that orcas, also known as “killer whales”, are not so aggressive as people generally think.
Sociable Creatures
Quora
As a matter of fact, some studies have shown that orcas are more similar to humans than what we think, so they’re not so “killer” after all!
They have the second-largest brain as far as marine mammals are concerned and they are sensitive and emotional creatures. Who would’ve thought?
They Bring Good Luck
Daily Mirror
And you know what? Apart from being sociable creatures, locals believe that orcas bring good luck and that efforts should always be made to save their lives.
This helps explain why Dunggio was so keen on saving the creature’s life!
Worthy Of Respect
Ninja Journalist
When interviewed by the media, both Dunggio and the fishermen confessed that orcas are very respected creatures in their culture.
“If someone kills a strange animal in the sea, he and his family will live in bad luck, this is our ancestor’s message. Lots of evidence,” said the owner of the fishing boat, Anshar Rahman.
An Incredible Story
Facebook/WhaleStrandingIndonesia
If there’s something that we learned from this story is that Julian is surely an experienced diver and everyone who gets on a boat ride with him needs to get ready for an adventure.
Nonetheless, what did you think of this incredible story?