A dolphin as pink as Hello Kitty！ Thailand’s legendary hidden gem revealed

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Network, reported by Li Xinyi

Pink is a lovable color, and seeing a pink Hello Kitty always makes you say, “So cute!” But what if an animal is pink? It’s said that even adorable dolphins come in pink—located in the ocean at the border between Thailand’s Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and Surat Thani Province.

We traveled by boat from Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in search of the legendary pink dolphins. Spotting them in the vast ocean required luck. The sea was calm and sunny, yet the dolphins were nowhere to be seen. Just when the guide announced that they might have gone far away today and we wouldn’t meet them, sudden slight movements appeared in the distance—we finally found the pink dolphins！

In the vast ocean at the border between Thailand’s Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and Surat Thani Province, the well-preserved marine ecology attracts these delicate creatures to stay. There are about three types of dolphins in this area, and the legendary pink dolphins are of the species “Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin.” These dolphins are born gray with white bellies, and their color starts turning pink after they turn 8. Female dolphins have an average lifespan of about 30 years, while males live around 50 years. Female dolphins become pregnant at 5–6 years old and then care for their calves for 3–4 years.

On this trip, we were lucky enough to encounter both gray and pink dolphins in Surat Thani Province’s Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park, where a mother (pink) was swimming in the sea with her calf (gray). Both pairs we met were mothers with calves. Perhaps due to strong maternal instincts, the pink dolphins were extremely alert, keeping a considerable distance from the boats. However, since dolphins need to surface for air every three minutes on average, we could still catch fleeting glimpses of them—their pink bodies and dorsal fins gliding through the blue sea, making one marvel at how such adorable creatures exist in the world！