Irene internship - Luc surgery - Marine Savers Maldives

Hello again, everybody!

I had the opportunity to extend my internship period for three more months, so here I am again, feeling lucky and happy about having the chance of learning more about Maldivian marine life. That also means that I am going to keep you updated for a little while longer.  😊

During the time that I am going to stay in Kuda Huraa, from May to August, the summer monsoon shifts through a series of dry and rainy periods, getting more windy and rainy through the monsoon change. What is more, we are in the manta ray season!

Irene internship - Manta Trust, Ari Atoll - Marine Savers Maldives

Manta rays are elasmobranchs belonging to the same family as sharks; the manta species that we can spot in our snorkel safaris are the reef manta rays. This type of manta is one of the largest rays in the world, measuring up to 3.5m in disc width (wingspan), with a maximum size of about 5.5m.

We are lucky here in the Maldives because the mantas usually go to cleaning and feeding areas where it is easy to observe them. Every Saturday, we organise a manta ray snorkel for the guests of the resort and I am in charge of guiding them all and explaining interesting facts about these incredible animals.

As we are at the start of the season, and the mantas are not yet using the cleaning and feeding stations known to be found in North Malé atoll, we have not spotted any manta rays during our snorkels so far. I am hoping so much to experience an encounter with these animals, as I have never yet seen them in real life.

However, we always have a backup plan! After checking the manta ray spot, our excursion boat leads us to Tuna Pass (a snorkelling spot close to a tuna processing factory) to enjoy the beautiful school of banner fishes and large groups of sting rays. In only a single snorkel trip, we can see up to 30 sting rays swimming very close to us.

My first dolphin cruise was one of the most memorable ones. I remember pointing out some dolphins to the guests, when suddenly a group of pilot whales surfaced just in front of us! The pilot whale is among the largest of the oceanic dolphins, exceeded in size only by the killer whale. Like dolphins, they are highly social and it is believed that both males and females remain in their mother’s pod, an unusual trait among mammals.

Turtle ID project - Hawksbill EI0953 'Bill', Lhaviyani Atoll Maldives

Hawksbill Turtle, ‘Bill’ (EI0953) Lhaviyani Atoll, Maldives

Irene internship - spinner dolphins - Marine Savers Maldives

Dolphin Cruise

During the turtle adventure safaris, I have also been in charge of taking photos of the carapace and face of the sea turtles for our Identification Project. I really enjoy swimming with marine turtles with an underwater camera. They have this restful way of swimming, as if they do not have any fear or burden worrying them.

Identification is possible because of the pattern of the facial ‘scutes’ (scales). The scutes can be used as a reliable method for individual recognition, just like fingerprints in humans.

With this project, we are trying to establish an estimated inventory of Maldivian sea turtles; the identification of individuals within a population being the preliminary step taken in the ecological study of a species. We currently have more than 2,000 individually identified Hawksbill and Green turtles in the database; thanks to everyone who is contributing from resorts, dive schools and safari boats from all over the Maldives.

So far, our research has shown that Hawksbills remain on their home reefs throughout the year, travelling only between reefs less than two kilometres apart, while Green turtles tend to use multiple reefs for feeding. Our data also show that we mainly observe female and juvenile turtles on the reefs, with few males of either species being spotted by our researchers.

Irene internship - Luc amputation - Marine Savers Maldives

Flipper surgery on a rescued sea turtle (Luc)

Irene internship - turtle ID - Marine Savers Maldives

The pattern of scales is unique to each turtle

Our Rescue Turtle Patients

Our sea turtles in the Marine Discovery Centre have gone through several changes. Some of them have been released, others sent to nearby facilities, and one of them unfortunately didn’t have the strength to make it through.

Luc is an Olive Ridley sea turtle found by crew members from a cruising live-aboard. The boat crew spotted floating debris and after having a close look, they realised that three sea turtles were trapped in a drifting ‘ghost’ fishing net. The boat crew extracted them from the tangled mess of marine debris and sent the reptiles to our Marine Discovery Centre in Kuda Huraa. (Sadly, one of them didn’t survive the journey).

Luc started to be more rehydrated following baths in fresh water after his arrival to our Centre, and also because of the reef fish our team offered to him and which he gladly ate. Despite his first improvements, Luc had an almost amputated flipper. With the help of the resort doctor, we removed that hanging flipper and with my veterinary knowledge, I was able to assist with Luc’s surgery. He managed to make it through surgery and as we began to give antibiotics, wound care and daily fluids, it looked like he was starting to slowly recover. Unfortunately, he began to lose interest in food, became very lethargic, and unfortunately succumbed to his wounds and peacefully passed away on 20 June.

Max’s story is a brighter one, following his arrival at our facility in March. This Olive Ridley was found floating and entangled in a fishing ghost net along with five other turtles! The wounds in his flippers were mostly superficial. The most worrying issue was his poor body condition; he was underweight and unable to dive. Little by little, this weak animal started to develop more interest in food and he even ended up diving to reach the pieces of fish we threw in front of him!

In June, Max was strong and powerful enough to return back to the wild. We released him on a bright sunny day, in open ocean outside the atoll, and I had the chance of holding him before the last goodbye! He was so eager, that he swam straight downwards after release, just as if he had been longing for ages for that moment to happen.

Irene internship - Max release - Marine Savers Maldives

I am enjoying my island life, and although I’m missing my family and friends from Spain a little, I really feel that I belong to somewhere like this magical place, surrounded by the ocean and the amazing creatures living there.

Hasta pronto,
Irene 😉

Irene internship - sting ray - Marine Savers Maldives (4) photo Sophie
Irene internship - thunder clouds - Marine Savers Maldives
Marine Savers - Employment Opportunities, Job Vacancies, Careers

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.
And see more from our Interns in their very own words & photos as part of our Diary / Blog series.

... sharks and rays and fish of every imaginable colour, living right on my doorstep, welcomed me to my marine biology internship. It was utter bliss.
I often lose myself in the work here: taking care of the turtles; accompanying guests on boat trips and snorkelling excursions; showing young children the excitement of what it is to be a marine biologist; the positive impact that we are making here ... the days are flying by.

Laura (UK) 2022

After graduating in July ... My first month here has been nothing short of incredible, with a variety of different projects keeping us very busy.
Coral spawning is an amazing event I never expected to be able to witness, with hundreds of floating coral eggs appearing like a blizzard of snow in the water column.

Matt (Singapore) 2022

Work is busy but always rewarding – it makes my day when the guests tell me how their snorkel excursion was an epic experience!
“I can’t believe you secured such a dream job … You are so lucky to live in the Maldives!” This, I know for certain! 😊

Jenn (UK) 2021

I have recently graduated in Zoology and taken a year out to gain work experience before starting my Master’s. Working here has been an incredible experience and there’s so much more to learn about the turtle, fish and coral work.
The internship is made even better by the fact that the Marine Savers team is amazing and it’s a tropical paradise here! 🌴

Ellie (UK) 2020

Kihineh (/kiːhiːne/) ! 🙂 Not a day in my experience has been anything short of sensational ... every aspiring marine biologist must consider the opportunity to live and work here as a dream and privilege.
Meeting people, young and old, from all four corners of the globe, educating and showing them our rich marine biodiversity and sea life has been wonderful.

Maanee (Maldives) 2020

Typically, each day involves a solid 7 hours in the water … which we LOVE! 💙 We finished with a grand total of over 18,000 coral fragments collected and transplanted!
A huge thanks to the whole team at Marine Savers ... We had an absolutely amazing time.

Martyna & Sorin (2019)

As part of my Master’s degree, I am researching the size of coral fragments on the overall health of the Reefscapers coral frames.
I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to gain experience in my field ... I’ve enjoyed every second and have made some lifelong friends.

Olivia (UK) 2019

I am in a gap year between my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees to gain working experience ... across all the different projects ... I built coral frames, and helped with cultivation and rearing of the rotifers, artemia and jellyfish juveniles in the fish lab.

Lotte (Germany) 2019

I’ve spent ten weeks as a marine biology intern, and I’m having a fantastic time! There is so much to learn: Turtle care, Fish Lab and Coral propagation, turtle safari, night snorkel, dolphin cruise.
I was lucky enough to see around 20 Mantas feeding on the ocean surface … which was incredible!

Chathu (Sri Lanka) 2019

When arriving here, the first challenge is getting used to life on the island, your new everyday routine and the functioning of the Marine Discovery Centre. Luckily, all this is made as easy as possible by the friendly and helpful staff.
For my project, I will be assessing the growth rate of the coral frames that are located around the island as part of the Reefscapers coral restoration programme.

Louise (France) 2019

There are large numbers of adult Olive Ridley turtles drifting to the Maldives trapped in discarded (ghost) fishing gear, often wounded and dehydrated when they’re rescued.
With the annual coral bleaching event expected in the coming weeks, I hope to collect enough data to analyse the effects of shading the coral frames from the sun on the corals’ resilience to bleaching.

Julia (UK) 2019

For my intern project, I have been analysing the recorded megafauna sightings from our snorkel and dive trips. By collating the various species and different locations around the atoll, we can increase our knowledge about local populations and their movements.

Rafaela (Portugal) 2019

I’ve always wanted to visit the Maldives, so being an intern here at Marine Savers has been a dream come true … time has really flown by!
being able to watch beautiful sunsets while cruising next to 100 spinner dolphins is unreal … definitely one of my favourite parts of the job!

Juliet (USA) 2018

... the Marine Savers and Manta Trust teams are amazing people to work with and I thank them for what they taught me ... I gained here an impressive amount of knowledge and experience!
I also worked on a personal project, studying Acropora species corals under the microscope.

Léa (France) 2018

I’ve spent time learning about the different aspects of the Marine Discovery Centre: the turtle care, the Fish Lab and about the coral frames. After shadowing a few times to learn the ropes, I am now leading turtle safaris, guided adventure snorkels and dolphin cruises for the guests.

Saphire (UK) 2018

There was a lot to learn during my first weeks here, and it's all hands on deck with turtle rehabilitation and care.
My thesis is on coral speciation, but all my work with DNA fragments was confined to the lab, so it is exciting for me to fill the gap and finally be working with corals in the water.

Tiana (Hong Kong) 2018

Coming straight out of Uni, I never thought I would get the opportunity to even visit the Maldives, let alone work in such a beautiful place!
It has been a very exciting month, with some green turtle hatchlings from a nest at Landaa Giraavaru, and the release of one of our mature Olive Ridleys with a satellite tag!

Tori (Australia) 2018

My first few weeks have flown by! I’m working on a technique called coral microfragmentation, cutting corals into small pieces to study their growth rates.
I have also been leading some snorkel excursions and dolphin cruises, which is a wonderful way to explore the beautiful Baa Atoll area.

Thije (Netherlands) 2018

I helped improve the Fish Breeding Programme protocols, to increase the number of eggs laid, the quality of larvae and the larvae survival rate of the two clownfish species.
Swimming with manta rays with the Manta Trust scientists will long burn in my memory.

Jean-Gabriel (France) 2017

When I heard about the bleaching event of 2016, I felt completely powerless and didn’t want to just sit back and wait for the coral ecosystem to disappear from our planet. I therefore decided to work on coral bleaching, specifically trying to understand why some corals had survived these events whilst others didn’t.

Greg (Belgium) 2017

After spending several months with the Marine Savers team at Landaa Giraavaru, I can say for sure it was one of the best experiences of my life! I was able to help with the variety of different projects at the Marine Discovery Centre, and had the pleasure of working with an amazing team of dedicated biologists. One thing I really liked about my internship was being able to work independently and to have a lot of responsibility from the beginning.

Vanessa (2017)

I cannot believe how much has already happened in such a short period of time … during my first week, I learnt so many new things that I thought my head might explode!
Snorkelling is a big part of the job, and the best snorkel trip I have experienced included 15 reef sharks, multiple hawksbill turtles, a pair of eagle rays, octopus and stingrays.

Hannah (Australia) 2017

It is wonderful to share my marine passions and experiences with the lovely team at Marine Savers Kuda Huraa. I really feel so lucky to be living this tremendous experience.
Apart from enjoying my every working day, even my off-days are great fun too ! The ‘Tropicsurf’ guys have been helping improve my surfing technique, and I am finally able to perform a proper take off and enjoy the ‘Sultans’, the typical Maldivian wave.

Irene (Spain) 2017

Days spent at Landaa Giraavaru are always ones to look forward to, as each day has its own fascinating adventures.
I spend most of the time working with the 6 Olive Ridleys ... it is my first time being up-close-and-personal with injured sea turtles. We follow treatment and diet plans that specially cater to each individual patient, and each turtle has their own unique personality.

Lynn (Malaysia) 2017

The team were excellent teachers (thank you!) and everyone was very patient so I learnt very quickly.
I will always be eternally grateful for this opportunity ... A very sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart for everyone’s encouragement, hard work and dedication. My short time here has allowed me to learn so many things that otherwise might not have been possible.
The memories I have forged here will always have a special place in my heart ♡ … what a wonderful country!

Janice (Singapore) 2017

From literally stepping out of the airport and onto the resort speedboat, I was completely blown away by how amazing the Maldives is; hot sun, blue skies, and crystal-clear waters … paradise!
In my first week, I spent a lot of time learning about and working with the resident sea turtles ... Caring for these turtles has been great fun and each one has its own personality.
... we were lucky to encounter a large pod of false killer whales, which was an incredible experience!
The teams at both resorts are a fantastic group of people and I enjoyed every moment working with them all.

Mark (UK) 2016

The first week was a busy one as three new rehab turtles turned up in three consecutive days. I have also been busy with guest snorkel trips, dolphin cruises, scientific projects, coral reef monitoring and surfing world class waves at the local breaks!
I have been here for the last five wonderful weeks ... such great fun and every day is so varied ... to learn all I can about the amazing marine life in the Maldives.

Adam (UK) 2016

Each morning I caught the local 8:15 ferry boat … much better than the bus in Germany!
One day we went to a nearby uninhabited agricultural island, to collect some turtle hatchlings and release them out in the open water. Another great experience was the manta boat-trip ... for one whole day we searched for mantas in different sites around Baa Atoll.
All in all I can say that my 6 weeks’ volunteering ... was a great experience, I met a lot of nice and very friendly people and I learned a lot about turtles, fish species and corals in the beautiful tropical waters around the Maldives.

Nicole (Germany) 2016

The Marine Savers team is great fun to work with, and I couldn’t have asked for a better location to gain some experience in environmental conservation.
It was wonderful to be around so many people who share my passion for the underwater world, and I hope it’s not too long before I’m back beneath the waves in the Maldives!

Dhiya (Sri Lanka) 2016

Every day was a different adventure, with turtles to treat, corals to transplant, talks to give and dolphins to spot. It is always a thrill to (see) the juvenile Spinner dolphins, who stick very close to their mothers but are often the most acrobatic jumpers, putting the ‘spin’ in Spinner. Sometimes we were lucky to spot manta rays too.
I am very grateful to the Marine Savers team ... It has strengthened my desire to work in marine conservation and I hope to be back in the Maldives one day!

Roz (UK) 2016

You can see some breathtaking marine life here in the Maldives, and every time I’m in the water I feel constantly in awe of my surroundings ... 2 mantas at a cleaning station swam through our dive group, getting extremely close!
These activities, along with the people I have met along the way have ... made the experience so enjoyable and memorable.

Emily (UK) 2016

I had never seen a turtle this large before, which was a whole new experience for me in itself ... It took 6 people to get this amazing turtle out of the water and into the boat.
I have even started leading some of the snorkel safaris around nearby reefs, an incredibly rewarding experience to be sharing information and experiences with people. My favourite moments have often been on our dolphin cruises, the incredible spinner dolphins never cease to amaze me as they throw their bodies high above the water surface. That is certainly a sight I will never get tired of!

Sophie (UK) 2015

Taking time off work to travel all the way to the Maldives to care for sea turtles might seem a crazy idea to some; for me, however, it was the chance of a lifetime. This was the perfect opportunity to leave my office desk in the concrete jungle of Hong Kong and take part in something meaningful in a unique part of the world.
I have had a tremendous time, and have made friends with a lot of lovely people from around the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would definitely like to come back some day to visit everyone… and the sea turtles too, of course!

Keith (Hong Kong) 2015

Winy and Hazel had a very busy and enjoyable time, working with our turtle care patients and the Reefscapers coral propagation programme.
They also helped with an important reef clean-up, and had a memorable day releasing baby turtle hatchlings into the ocean.

Winy & Hazel (Hong Kong) 2015

Every day since I have arrived has been an adventure!
I am witnessing new and amazing things every day, from sunsets to 'Spanish Dancers' ! It’s a wonderful experience as we share underwater marine life encounters, and I have actually lost count of how many sharks, dolphins and turtles I’ve encountered since I arrived ... and it’s magical every time.

Cath (UK) 2015

The care and rehabilitation of the turtles here is very satisfying work.
In just a short few weeks, I have seen Spinner Dolphins, Hawksbill Turtles, Black Tip Reef Sharks and of course lots of colourful and varied marine life ... a wonderful moment each time!

Mailis (Belgium) 2015

All of the experiences have allowed me to make many new friends and gain knowledge and memories that will never be forgotten.
Thank you to everyone for making my time here so enjoyable!

Beth (UK) 2015

A very enjoyable part of my job is spreading awareness to the public, to promote better understanding and appreciation for the marine ecosystem. We recently organised a school excursion ... seeing these enthusiastic children learning about the environment brings me joy and hope.
My time here has been an amazing experience ... more than just swimming with the fishes and being surrounded by beautiful reefs!

Adrelia (Singapore) 2014

Frédéric was a PhD student and lecturer at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, specialising in ecology and tropical marine biology.
During his time with us, Frédéric researched indigenous Echinoderms, and possibly discovered a previously undocumented new species of sea cucumber.

Frédéric (France) 2014

Glen worked with us in 2014, developing a shark population survey to study local populations of Blacktip Reef sharks using a variety of survey methods including underwater camera traps, and snorkel surveys.

Glen (UK) 2014

One of our first interns, Dylan (from Singapore's Temasek Polytechnic) had an amazingly unique experience with us.
Firstly, he helped with the rescue of a stranded false killer whale 'Haita' (although she sadly did not survive rehabilitation).
And then he was invited to the “Marine Mammal Stranding Symposium” (February 2013), to present our work and findings to fellow marine biologists.

Dylan (Singapore) 2012