Hi everyone. I’m Beth, Seamarc’s intern at the Four Seasons Marine Discovery Centre, Kuda Huraa. During my three month work placement, I have been fully immersing myself in the life of a resort marine biologist, and taking part in all the island projects.
My third and final month with the Marine Savers team has brought lots of excitement!
Since my last update we have had two new green hatchlings admitted into the Head Start programme. These hatchlings were going to be kept as pets but were rescued by marine biologists at Maalifushi (Thaa Atoll) and sent to us here. These hatchlings have adjusted to their new home well and are currently enjoying each other’s company in a shared tank.
As well as these two hatchlings we have also had another Olive Ridley turtle admitted into rehabilitation after being caught in a fishing line. Naseeb (meaning ‘lucky’ in the local Dhivehi language) was in a bad way when he arrived at Kuda Huraa. The flesh on his front left flipper was dying off, and the bones of the flipper were visible. Emergency surgery was performed on Naseeb to remove this flipper. The surgery went smoothly and he is now in one of our pools recovering. In order to keep the wound clean we wanted to cover it with bandages, Naseeb however had a different idea and kept removing his bandages! In order to overcome this problem and keep the wound covered we have made a makeshift jacket for him out of an old wetsuit and it seems to be doing the job well!
Not only have we had turtles arriving to the island, we have also released two Green turtles that were part of our head start programme. The first turtle to be released was named Esme and was released on 15 March, and the second turtle, Wang (meaning ‘Ocean’ in Chinese), was released on 18 March. Both turtles had reached the required release size of 30cm which gives them a higher chance of survival in the wild than at the size they are when they first hatch. Makunadhoo Reef (N.Malé Atoll) was the site for both releases, and both turtles swam off with no problems at all. Esme and Wang were both tagged before their release and can be tracked on the turtle tracking page of the website.
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- Green Turtle ‘Wang’ release
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- Naseeb
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- Turtle hatchlings – 3 different SIZES/AGES
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- Turtle Hatchling through glass
Alongside the care of the turtles here at the facility, I have been leading guest excursions. During one of these trips, we recently spotted Short-fin Pilot Whales, which swam alongside the bow of the boat for over an hour – an amazing experience to see these wonderful animals up close. I have also taken part in a few diving trips with guests to take pictures for the turtle monitoring project as well as general marine life sightings. During my dives I have seen many marine organisms such as Hawksbill Turtles, Eagle Rays, Napoleon Wrasse and Whitetip Reef Sharks.
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- Cetacean spotting – Pilot Whales
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- Spotted Eagle Ray
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- Whitetip reef shark
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- Diving
All of the experiences I have had during my time as an intern here have allowed me to make many new friends and gain knowledge and memories that will never be forgotten. Thank you to everyone at SEAMARC and Four Seasons Kuda Huraa for making my time here so enjoyable! I hope to return to the Maldives sometime in the future, to expand my marine knowledge, and help with conservation efforts to maintain the incredible beauty both above and beneath the waves.
Naseeb in his wetsuit jacket
Do you want to experience life as a marine biologist
here in the Maldives ?
Head over to our Employment page to read about the different ways you can work with us - full time, apprentice or intern.
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