Hello again … it’s been a busy month! (My first Safari blog, if you missed it). Audrey, our resident marine biologist, left on a 6-week cruise on the Four Seasons Explorer liveaboard, so I’ve taken over her job whilst she’s away.

We had a new turtle admitted to our rehabilitation centre, sent from Kuda Huraa, named Squirtle. Squirtle had all four flippers intact, but was buoyant on one side making her lopsided, indicating a problem with one of her lungs. Unfortunately, 2 weeks after she arrived in Landaa she became lethargic, lost interest in eating and then sadly died.

In more positive news, Shaaru will now eat prawns, so we add some to our turtle food to encourage her to eat. We still hunt for crabs for her, to make sure she’s getting as much food as possible, as she lost a little weight when she arrived. We still offer a piece of fish every day, but she refuses to eat it!

Saphire’s marine biology internship Maldives (6) rescue turtle
I’ve successfully spotted wild turtles on every turtle safari so far, and one time we even saw 7 different turtles! However, I’ve been on 2 dolphin cruises recently where we didn’t see any dolphins, which was disappointing. Some recent bad weather and choppy seas makes it harder to spot the dolphin fins.

I have managed to identify 5 new Bottlenose dolphins and 1 new Spinner dolphin, and re-sighted a further 12 dolphins already identified in the database. Plus, I’ve seen some cool creatures on guided adventure snorkels such as this whitetail stingray …

Saphire’s marine biology internship Maldives (3) ray

Although I am a PADI Divemaster, it had been almost a year since I had last dived, so I took an orientation dive on the House Reef where it was nice to see the coral frames flourishing, and the fish making use of them as shelter.
I have also been out on the manta research boat, and was lucky enough to see a whale shark one day, and a mass-feeding of around 50 manta rays … which was incredible!

See you in Chapter 3
Saphire  😊

Saphire’s marine biology internship Maldives (1) mantas
Saphire’s marine biology internship Maldives (2) whale shark
Saphire’s marine biology internship Maldives (5) mantas2