My very first Reefscapers heart-shaped frame, freshly transplanted and about to be submerged in the lagoon
Hello again! My first month in Landaa went by so fast, so I’m back to tell you a little about my recent adventures.
After watching and learning from the Reefscapers team, I have now started to lead snorkel and dolphin tours for the guests. The Dolphin Cruise is one of my favourite activities. After giving a brief on the boat cruise, and the common species in the Maldives – mainly spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) – we board the boat in search of these beautiful animals. During the trip, we take photographs of the dolphins’ dorsal fins for our Dolphin ID Project, as each individual has a different dorsal fin shape and unique marks/patterns that allow us to identify them.
Since arriving here, I have seen many spinner dolphins and improved my photo identification skills. I even have a dolphin with my name now! It’s the 390th spinner dolphin identified, and it was first seen on 16 April. Spinners are small dolphins about 2m long, and as the name implies, they love to jump out of the water and spin around in the air; being able to observe their behaviour is simply amazing. We’re not sure why they do this, but there are several theories, like: communication, getting rid of parasites, or just for fun!
Besides the Dolphin Cruise, I also accompany the guests on various snorkels tours, such as: Guided Adventure, Turtle Safari, Parrot Reef Snorkel and Night Snorkel. There are various locations for each snorkel, but you never know what animals are going to appear that day. We can see a lot of species of fish, starfishes, anemones, corals, clams, moray eels, rays, and when lucky… turtles and sharks.
My favourite and most special encounters so far were with spotted eagle rays, black tip sharks and hawksbill turtles. On my first night snorkel in the Maldives, I was amazed not only by the beautiful but dangerous lionfish, but also by the Parrotfish, spotted sleeping under the coral frames inside a bubble of mucus for protection. I also was surprised to see bioluminescence for the first-time; we turned off our torches, and the movements of our fins in the water revealed these unbelievable glowing blue dots… it was a moment to remember.
Day care for Sabi, our green turtle patient
Photographing dolphins for our ID project 🐬
This month, I have been collecting coral fragments and building a lot of coral frames. It’s fascinating to follow the progress of frames through the Reefscapers website, as the corals grow from small fragments to beautiful flourishing colonies. I had the opportunity to transplant my first heart-shaped coral frame – it was so beautiful. I have also been helping with the Fish Lab, where there is a non-stop production of Algae, Rotifers and Artemia. These are used to feed the marine animals in the breeding projects, and the inhabitants of the main aquarium that represents Maldives ocean life in miniature.
I’ve also been taking care of our turtles in rehabilitation. Every Wednesday is turtle day care, when we measure, weigh, and clean our turtle patients to remove algae. They have been enjoying their environmental enrichments (turtle ‘pool toys’), and I’m preparing ice blocks of fish and prawns each day, as a ‘fishy popsicle’ treat that also keeps their minds and bodies active.
One hundred Mantas at Hanifaru Bay !
Swimming with a Whale Shark at Hanifaru Bay
Despite some heavy rain showers, I’ve been enjoying my off-days at the staff beach, and was able to visit the local island of Kamadhoo, with its small fishing harbour and sandy roads. I was also invited to join the Manta Trust research boat for a day, and was lucky to swim with over one hundred mantas (and one whale shark!) for several hours in Hanifaru Bay, a marine protected area famous for the largest manta ray aggregation in the world. It was an epic day that I will never forget!
This has been another great month working with the Reefscapers team. I’m always learning something new, and even though this journey is coming to an end soon, I still have projects to help with and more adventures ahead.
Mônica de Luna 🌊
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