Bow riding killer whales off Mexico: CNN

Seems like the killer whales off Mexico have a penchant for bow-riding. Photos of bow-riding killer whales were captured twice last year in Loreto in Baja California (http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/post/killer-whales-put-on-rare-and-amazing-show-for-boaters-off-mexico/) and then yesterday CNN circulated this story about a couple celebrating their anniversary off La Paz Mexico who witnessed the same. Wow! Watch the video here: http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2013/04/29/pkg-killer-whales-swim-alongside-boat.wfla#/video/us/2013/04/29/pkg-killer-whales-swim-alongside-boat.wfla

I had a quick look around and it seems there is a video of bow-riding killer whales from Canada back in 2006 too (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0biz6z_tFI). Rest assured, this is rare, but what a phenomenal experience it must've been!

Video of Orcas vs. Sperm whales in southern Sri Lanka

INCREDIBLE! Orcas battling sperm whales off Sri Lanka

What a way to break my silence....(and apologise for the lack of activity here. I have heaps of stories lined up so stay tuned). This one is hot off the press and definitely worth checking out - look at the images!!! Unfortunately I was nowhere near the incident, despite this being my stomping ground, but wow wow wow!!!

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/04/orca-v-sperm-whale/?pid=6735

Why are blue whales so big?

Meet Asha the puppet

Ever wondered why blue whales are SO big? Wonder no more! In this neat animation we strive to answer that very question - so watch on! 

Animated by my friends at Cognitive Media with a story written and narrated by myself as part of the very cool TED Ed initiative.

Incredible blue whale footage

Filmed by my friends at Scubazoo in our beautiful waters! How is it that such a majestic creature roams our planet and we know so little about them and how to take care of them so others will have these same opportunities to marvel?

P.S. This Valentine's day lets step outside our comfort zone and vow to love our oceans better. We need it more than we understand. 

Research spotlight: What is a CTD?

Ever wondered how field biologists measure salinity and temperature in the water column??? We use a nifty instrument called a CTD, which in regular english is a Conductivity Temperature Depth recorder (Click here for a more detailed description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conductivity,_temperature,_depth). CTDs come in a range of sizes and limitations. We have chosen a small, portable instrument because we have limited space on the boat and have to hand cast. Its no easy task dropping about 6 kgs on a line down to 100 m and then bringing it back up safely but the prospect of answering questions and unravelling new mysteries helps us forget the calluses on our hands and sore biceps!

We hope you enjoy the first in our Spotlight series that highlights the different techniques used in the field to answer the questions swimming in my head...stay tuned for more!

Welcome to our YouTube channel!

Just wanted to welcome you all to our brand spanking new YouTube channel. We uploaded our first video to it a few days ago with more to come! Just click here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ashadevos or search for Asha de Vos. We hope you have as much fun watching all the videos as we have putting together for you! Stay tuned!

Intro video to our field season! Watch it here!

Finally.....we are live!!!

Biting the hand that feeds us

Yesterday´s news carried a story about a dolphin massacre off Kalpitiya on the northwest coast of the island. The story is being shared far and wide - as it should be. A big draw card to Kalpitiya in recent years has been these very dolphins that move in large groups and entertain dolphin watchers.

The death of these dolphins was caused by illegal fishing activities in the region involving purse seines or ´laila´nets coupled with dynamite that targets small tuna like species. This is the second time such a mass massacre has been reported (the last was from last year) but dolphins get caught in the midst of these non-traditional fishing activities on a regular basis.

This is indeed a huge tragedy and one that needs careful thought and strong support from the entire conservation community and nature lovers in order to solve. I just learnt that the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) have got the ball rolling and will be working with the relevant authorities and ministries to ensure that such a tragedy does not occur again and that the perpetrators are duly dealt with. The latest news article mentions that the ministry is probing into the situation.

Let us hope for the best. I am confident that the community can come together to make a difference on this matter. We really have to stop biting the hand that feeds us and start protecting the very resources that bring tourists to our shores..

For the news stories, click here http://www.hirunews.lk/52435

http://www.topssrilanka.com/article46082-ministry-launches-probe-into-massacre-of-over-50-dolphins-in-kalpitiya.html

Introducing The Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project Field Season 2013: Video

We have an exciting new video on the fun side of being a marine biologist up on our Facebook page. Click here The Unorthodox Whale....Its a really fun video put together by Rachel Sullivan-Lord that will hopefully have you sucked in and waiting for more!

I am trying to figure out how to upload it here (given limited bandwidth) but until such time I hope you will be able to view it at the project's official facebook page!! If you have trouble - leave me a note.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to bring all the excitement to your home!! Come join us on this incredible adventure to protect the world's largest mammal!

All work is conducted under permits from the Department of Wildlife Conservation in Sri Lanka. We thank them for their support and interest in our research and greater conservation goals.

WHOOPEEE!!