Chen Mo, associate researcher of Guangxi Academy of Sciences and a member of the research team, takes photos of a Bryde's whale foraging in waters off Weizhou Island in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Tao Xiyi)
BEIHAI, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Bryde's whale, mainly seen in tropical and subtropical waters, is regarded as a very mysterious species of cetaceans, with a body length of 10 to 12 meters and a weight of up to 15 tons. A scientific research team, composed by scientists, videographers, fishermen and volunteers, has been conducting research on the whales and taking the role of the guardians of these marine mammals that has been recently spotted off Weizhou after decades of absence.
Chen Mo, associate researcher of Guangxi Academy of Sciences and a member of the research team, shows photos of the dorsal fins used to identify individuals in Bryde's whales to his fellow researchers at the Cetacean Research and Conservation Station on Weizhou Island of Beihai City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Tao Xiyi)
Members of the research team are ready to leave by boat after inspecting the observation point on Xieyang Island in Beibu Gulf, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai)
Snapshot taken from a video shows a Bryde's whale foraging near the scientific research vessel in waters off Weizhou Island in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 15, 2021. (Photo by Wang Ruilong/Xinhua)
A Bryde's whale approaches the scientific research vessel in waters off Weizhou Island in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Tao Xiyi)
Chen Mo, associate researcher of Guangxi Academy of Sciences and a member of the research team, puts a water quality analyzer into the water in Beibu Gulf, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai)
Members of the research team leave the Cetacean Research and Conservation Station on Weizhou Island of Beihai City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Tao Xiyi)
Photo taken on Jan. 13, 2021 shows a Bryde's whale in waters off Weizhou Island in Beibu Gulf, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai)
Members of the documentary group take an inflatable boat out to sea to film the Bryde's whale in waters off Weizhou Island in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai)■
