Welcome to the Marine Mammal and wildlife Research and Community Development Expedition blog where you can keep up to date with all the happenings and information from Kenya

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A wild week on Marine!

End of our first week on marine and Mkwiro, and it’s been dolphins, turtles and goats, oh my! There may have been a couple of Humpback Whales in the mix too!




- Resident green turtle, Tripod (missing flipper)-


We’ve been out on the boat nearly every day doing dolphin surveys, and snorkeling along the turtle transects. It was a very successful week and we have managed to see Bottlenose dolphins, Green Turtles and Hawksbill turtles. We were also extremely lucky (and excited) to see a Humpback whale mother and calf off the east coast of Wasini Island. Enjoying their company for over two hours was truly amazing and something we’ll never forget. So it’s safe to say it’s been a really successful week out on the boat and it’s all been done with minimal seas sickness!






-Humpback whale mother surfacing-

We also had a trip down to the mangroves which was a fascinating albeit squelchy excursion! Aside from a lot of mud, we found two turtle skeletons; one of them was almost whole… Unfortunately we also found the body of a Humpback Whale calf that had died earlier in the week. Due to the carcass being 4-5 days old at the time it was found, the cause of death was difficult to determine. Nevertheless, despite these … and the delightful smell of sulphur dioxide, the mangroves were really interesting!

On base we are all adjusting to the fact that when the sun goes down it’s essentially bedtime. There is also a new addition to the family of animals that often visit our base. Billy the baby goat has decided to call GVI base home, and could be a result of all the cuddles he gets.

Overall it’s been an amazing week and we are keen and looking forward to what the oceans have in store for us shortly!
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