With Maya Bay closed to tourists, a group of dolphins shows up

Krabi’s iconic Maya Bay has been closed for the past few months to help its wildlife recover, and it appears to be working. On Friday, a group of about 10 bottlenose dolphins were spotted in the south of the Maya Bay by Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park staff.

Maya Bay has been closed since August 1 and will remain closed until September 30. Before that, it had reopened on January 1 after being closed since 2018.

Maya Bay’s three-year closure was successful at bringing back plant and animal species that had disappeared due to tourist overrun. The most notable animal to return to breed in the bay is the blacktip shark. In March, a park ranger told NPR that before the park closed, when there could be over 6,000 tourists a day, no one would ever think of seeing the local sharks. He said now, on a good day, 160 sharks could be seen.

Other visitors to Maya Bay earlier this year, both Thai and foreign, were struggling with words to describe how beautiful it was. One woman from Germany said it was “the most beautiful place she had ever seen.”

Maya Bay was made famous by the 2000 movie “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

See The Thaiger’s video from last year about controlling tourists in Maya Bay (filmed before the Bay reopened to full tourism)….

SOURCE: The Phuket Express