GVI Intern Kenya

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Keziah Hobson - Kenya

Whilst at university studying Zoology I always knew I wanted to be out in the field seeing it with my own eyes. Once finishing my degree my drive to continue my studies as a postgraduate were still strong however I was unsure what area to concentrate on. After looking into several volunteer operations abroad I found GVI. What caught my attention immediately was the opportunity of not only a 3 month expedition but also the opportunity to continue on in a staff position for another 3 months. The Kenya expedition also involved marine, terrestrial and community aspects which I hoped would lead me to deciding what area I wished to continue into.

Through being accepted on to the internship, I believed I would not only gain the experience of taking part in surveys and teaching in the classroom as a volunteer, but also progress further to be supervising these surveys and helping manage the volunteers on the expedition. The opportunity to be working with like-minded people, with knowledge in these specific areas was also appealing.

Having completed the internship my expectations of what I would have gained from the experience have been surpassed. In addition to leading surveys, I designed and prepared a presentation on a reef fish survey, which will hopefully be carried out in expeditions to come. I have gained a lot of experience in managing groups of people in several different environments; out in the field, ensuring the surveys are carried out to the high level needed, and on base, in the day to day running of things when living on an island with no electricity or running water! Being involved with the logistical side of things has opened my eyes to the amount of work involved in running such an expedition and has provided me with experience that will definitely be beneficial to me in the future. On the whole the internship has given me the chance to increase my knowledge whilst expanding and developing my skills in both the field research and logistics.

So the future seems bright at the moment, having been asked to stay on for another expedition as a general staff member! My future plans are to stay in Africa, mainly Kenya and continue working in the field of research and volunteer organisations

An Epic Day of Dolphins

I woke up 6am in Shimoni, waiting to find out when the boat would come to pick me up at the jetty. With the rainy season, start times of marine surveys become a wee bit unpredictable - with one eye on the rain clouds you just have to wait for the opportunity! However, the sun was shining, there was no sign of rain and a phone call later I was jogging through Shimoni village to the boat.

We headed out towards Funzi Bay, across Nyuli Reef and to Upper Mpunguti Island when we had our first sighting of dolphins, something that has also become a less predictable with the season. At first we thought there were eleven Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, but soon realised this was an underestimation. Ten on the port side, ten on the starboard side, we didn’t know quite where to look, excitedly swapping sides with a chorus of gasps and squeals from our team, and splashes and blows from the dolphins.

Several individuals were identified immediately, including one of my favourite pairs; Besty and her calf. I had the pleasure to be on the boat when we spotted Besty and her newborn calf for the first time, adorably small with the foetal folds still showing! Others including Twende and the yet to be named individual ‘063’ were also identified. The group were at first travelling fast in a southerly direction, then their pace slowed, with a couple of individuals approaching the boat to bow ride. This enabled us to get good shots of the dorsal fins, which will be used for photo-identification in our mark-recapture study.

The dolphins had done us a service, leading us to the start of the snorkel transect our survey leader had selected for the day, by Kisite Island... and it turned out to be the perfect day to pick this transect! As we climbed out of the water to board the boat post-survey, everyone’s face was an absolute picture: 3 hawksbill turtles, 5 green turtles and 1 moray eel! Ruth and I even had the pleasure of watching one of the green turtles swim slowly to the surface, stop for a few seconds and then continue to raise its head out the water, beak open for a gasp of air.

With the weather being on our side, we decided to return towards Funzi Bay, but the sea was just a little too rough, so we diverted in to Wasini channel. Within 5 minutes of turning the boat around there was a shout from Katalin at the front, “DOLPHIN”, followed quickly by “HUMPBACK DOLPHIN!”. We had to wait 10 minutes for the individual to reappear, a very large Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin that seemed curiously darker than usual. We put this down to the glare of the sun, and waited for what we thought was a lone individual to resurface. Then two individuals surfaced riding a wave, both smaller than the first. Several more minutes of waiting and we were shocked to see not only the three individuals from before, but another two adults and calf!

We continued to watch them for 20 minutes as they were feeding, coming up for several breaths before peduncle dives took them under for several minutes. After surfacing for the third time, in unison, they formed a compact group, changed direction and headed south, crossing the channel towards Wasini Island. We were able to compare the colouration of the first individual and yes, he was distinctly darker, not something we had seen before. The mother of the calf had a deep scar around her neck, possibly from a fishing line. Only 2 weeks ago an individual was spotted with a huge chunk out the back of his dorsal fin, the shape suggestive of a boat propeller injury. Both these wounds emphasize the humpback dolphin’s vulnerability to fishing activities, boat traffic and marine debris around coast lines.

All in all it was quite an epic day for our research team and for me one of complete brilliance!

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