Bottlenose dolphins, Humpback dolphins, Killer and Southern Right
whales.
All in the same place. Who could ask for more!
Help to do research work on Dolphins and Whales
and work in a beautiful and temperate
environment, where you can go from mountain to beach in half-an-hour!
Our Dolphin Research programme is based in
the spectacularly beautiful holiday resort of
Plettenberg
Bay on the southern coast, a small town near Knysna and about 500 km
east of Cape Town. There is easy access to many of the country's most
beautiful beaches and nature parks.
The institute we work with is a Trust,
established to research and raise public awareness of Africa’s marine mammals
and coastal areas.
There are
sightings of
bottlenose and humpback dolphins and Cape Fur Seals. Bottlenose occur in group
sizes averaging around 6 dolphins. Frequently you can see common dolphins,
killer whales, Bryde’s and mink whales. In whale season, between July and
November, there are southern right whales every day, as well as humpbacks,
especially in May and June and between November and January.
During your project you'll also be given a certificated course
in Marine Mammal Biology and Research.
The Director of the
Centre (who will supervise your work) hails from Zimbabwe and is one of the
world’s foremost authorities on dolphins and whales. The Centre has
undertaken over 30 research programmes by a network of scientists and
post-graduate students, and over 145 publications have been produced. Your work
in this Centre is varied and extremely worthwhile.
During your stay on the project, and depending
on the length of time your project is for, you'll be given a a course in
Marine Mammal Biology and Research. Amongst other things, the course will
cover a lot of basic information about marine mammals and will be divided up
into different modules:
Module 1: Introduction to Marine Mammals - Diversity and Identification
Module 2: Evolution of Marine Mammals
Module 3: Marine Mammal Anatomy
Module 4: Marine Mammal Physiology
Module 5: Age and Growth
Module 6: Diet and Feeding
Module 7: Reproduction
Module 8: Behaviour and Social Biology
Module 9: Research Techniques
9a. Animal Identification, Estimation of abundance
9b. Boat-based surveys
9c. Land-based surveys
Module 10: Strandings
Module 11: Threats and Conservation
Each module will include lectures, practical workshops, collection and
analysis of data. The course will run for four weeks and if you're staying
for longer than 4 weeks, you'll be able to use yourr new-found knowledge to
get involved with ongoing projects, help with training and aid with
collection of data for ongoing projects. A small 'exam' will be written at
the end of the course and you'll receive a certificate.
Your Work
Your work will vary, depending on what is required at the time that your
programme takes place, but could include helping to research population
parameters and social structures of dolphins, whales and the Cape Fur Seal,
as well as tracking their movements and habitat use in the Plettenberg Bay
area.
You’ll do field study work, administration and dealing with the public.
While you're in Plettenberg Bay, you’ll also have the opportunity to go on
some of the commercial tourist boats (see our
photo gallery for pics taken from the tourist boats).
This project starts on the first and third Tuesday of every month
and the minimum project length is 4 weeks.
Bottleneck and Humpback Dolphins, Brydes and Humpback Whales
Research is done on all the different species and some of the data is
gathered by going out on the research boat, or possibly even the tourist
boat, to take photographs of the dolphins and whales. The photographs are to
provide fin profiles for identification.
After a trip out on the research boat, you’ll go back to the lab to
catalogue the photos for identification of the different individuals. This
provides valuable information on the animals’ migration patterns and social
groups and habits. The more multi-sightings of individuals they are able to
record, the more they can learn, including sizes of babies, thus providing
information on their stages of growth.
On average, trips to sea on the research boat take place 3 times a week and
trip length is generally approximately 3 to 4 hours. Naturally, much of this
work is governed by the weather and, if the weather prohibits field research
for extended periods, you should be prepared for this and possibly some
periods for inactivity as a result of it.
Humpback Whales
Other work involved on this project includes taking skin samples from
Humpback whales for analysis. This work is most prolific from May to
November, but does takes place throughout the rest of the year as well
Cape Fur Seals
Project
Research with
Cape Fur Seals
covers many facets and includes counting and collecting faeces and liaising
with fishermen in the area to identify the food the seals eat.
The data collected is published regularly and is made widely available
internationally
In additional to the field work, every volunteer will probably also be given
a project to work on with other scientists at the Centre. Many of these
projects will be tailored to suit each individual volunteer’s interests and
abilities.
One of the many projects that the Centre needs help with is educating the
local children. It may be that the children come to the Centre on a field
trip or you may be assigned to visit the local schools to give lectures on
basic environmental issues. For this purpose, you may be asked to help
construct an Information Board and/or other visual aids, including
literature and other types of information to be used for your lectures. One
of the major priorities of the Centre is to educate the local people.
Another of the Centre’s activities is the rescue and rehabilitation of
penguins, sea birds and occasionally seals, particularly after an oil spill
or other devastating event. These aren’t necessarily all major oil spills -
even the very minor ones cause the local marine life distress and at times
life-threatening problems.
Rescue operations come out of the blue (pardon the pun). One moment
everything is going along quite normally, the next everyone is racing down
to the beach to help direct a rescue operation. Our volunteers in the past
have helped to rescue a whale which had stranded itself on the beach and for
a couple of days there was frenetic activity and lots of tears of
frustration, but the rescue was a success in the end and every derived
immense satisfaction at being able to contribute to saving the whale’s life.
What the Project gains from your voluntary work:
This centre undertakes a large volume of research, the objective of which is
to increase the knowledge base on local marine mammals and birds and to help
ensure their survival in the face of threats. Part of your contribution is
to assist the post-graduate students with practical elements of their
research projects. Equally valuable to the Centre is your help in raising
much-needed funds - without these funds they would have great difficulty in
continuing with their research.
What Skills are required from You:
You need to be flexible, adaptable and willing to undertake a variety of
tasks. A love of animals and a belief in conservation is a necessity. You
should be prepared to work at physical tasks and in the outdoors, as well as
indoors doing data entry and research.
Volunteer Carolyn Lamping with a rare beached Longman's beaked whale
MINI PROJECTS & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
LATEST NEWS FROM THIS PROJECT
We thought you might enjoy some news about what's happening on the project.
There is some happy news of volunteers participating in rescuing animals
from certain death, some interesting sightings in the region, and,
unfortunately, some sad news of strandings and the death of a seal at the
hands of man ... there are times when one wants to cry at what human beings
sometimes do to defenceless creatures!
Keurie – Baby turtle
In early March the volunteers made a surprise find on Keurbooms Beach when
they came across a baby turtle. The poor little turtle was a juvenile
loggerhead, found lying in the sand, in a weak condition and had been
exposed to the midday sun for a period of time. The volunteers eagerly
attempted to put him back into the ocean, but the surf proved too strong for
him. Fortunately, little “Keury” as he was named by the volunteers, survived
the journey back to the Ocean Blue tank.
Although reluctant to eat at first, he has since built up a healthy
appetite of jellyfish, prawns and seaweed. Since then, three other juvenile
loggerheads arrived to keep little Keury company. This weekend, they will be
relocated to Port Elizabeth Aquarium, where they will get bigger and
stronger before being tagged and released off Bird Island in Algoa Bay.
Strandings
Around the Christmas period the volunteers had the opportunity to help with
strandings, a Cape fur seal that was found with a bullet wound and a
Cuvier’s beaked whale.
The male Cuvier’s beaked whale was found floating next to the seal colony at
Robberg. Vic and Debbie [who run the project Centre] along with the volunteers, went out to retrieve the
carcass and good old Gwen braved the sharks to get into the water and
managed to tie a rope around its tail. Once towed to the shoreline Gwen and Siria entered the water and, with the public’s help, pulled the carcass ashore
and got it loaded onto a truck….at 5 m long – the dissection took almost
three days – on Debbie’s front lawn!!!! Nothing out of the ordinary was
found so any cause of death was difficult to establish.
The Cape fur seal found towards the end of January was an adult male who
came up alive in the Piesang River mouth – right opposite the Beacon Isle
Hotel. Debbie and the gang were called out the following morning, but
unfortunately the seal had drowned with the incoming tide. The body was
taken back to the farm. On dissecting the
seal, a bullet wound was found in the neck. This seal must have been in a
lot of pain and taken a while to die a distressing death.
Sightings
Between November and March, Robberg has had an unusual visitor amongst the
rocks. A male elephant seal has taken up residency among the cape fur seals
and has keenly played up to the tourists on the nearby boats.
Throughout January both the bottlenose and humpback dolphins have been
regularly spotted both in and around the Bay, with the humpback being
particularly active and showing off their jumping skills. At the
moment, the bay is full of Bryde’s whales and feeding birds and seals (no
common dolphins yet!)– the start of the annual sardine run! The last trip
with the majority of the volunteers on board were lucky enough to spot about
six different Bryde’s about two miles off Robberg.
We have a BBC film crew in Plett at the moment, spending a month here
filming the sardine run, as they attempt to film one of “The Greatest
Events on the Planet”.
Beach Clean up
A bright and breezy Sunday morning in March saw the volunteers come down to
Central Beach and help with a large beach clean up involving all the
volunteers in and around Plett. Every group of volunteers was allocated
different areas to clean, from the rocks on Robberg to the lagoon area.
Some unusual items were found, including several pairs of shoes and
some garden furniture as well as several full bags of rubbish. On true form,
the volunteers returned to Central Beach having collected almost half
(somewhere in the region of twelve bags!) of the total amount of rubbish
collected, which was a pretty outstanding result.
YOUR ACCOMMODATION
You will be staying
in a beautiful wooden cabin on Vic & Debbie’s property. The location
is about 7 km outside the town of
Plettenberg Bay,
set in the most stunning surroundings. The property shares boundaries with
the Knysna Elephant Park and often you’ll wake up to elephants just a few
metres away, hanging their heads over the fence.
Depending on the number of volunteers, you may
have your own room, or you may be asked to share with one other volunteer.
There are 5 rooms sleeping ten volunteers in total. Each room has a
bunk bed, sink and set of drawers. The large open plan living space
consists of a kitchen and dining area and a comfy sitting room. There is a
TV, DVD & video player (you can rent movies in town) and a stereo.
There are three toilets and three shower rooms. The cabin has its own
garden and a barbeque area.
You will be expected to budget for and arrange your own breakfast and lunch
but supper will be provided and cooked for you. Tea, coffee, sugar, milk and
juice are also provided. On Sundays you will prepare your own meals with the
ingredients provided (pastas, sauces, vegetables etc)
On Sundays you will prepare your own meals
with the ingredients provided (pastas, sauces, vegetables etc)
About
Directors Vic and Debbie
Vic is very laid-back and relaxed, but his knowledge and the respect he
commands is immense. Students and volunteers alike hold him in high esteem,
yet get on with him like a good friend or a close brother.
His wife, Debbie, who also has a PhD in zoology, runs the CDS on a daily
basis and works very hard to make your placement as worthwhile and as
enjoyable as possible.
Without a doubt, you will thoroughly enjoy
your time with them on this placement.
TRAVEL:
You have the option to arrange your
own flights or we can assist you with your flight arrangements. If you would
like us to do this for you, we will liaise with you regarding available flights
and dates to suit you. All arrangements for your flight bookings/payments will
be fulfilled by Murray Rogers Travel Ltd., ATOL No. 6856. (Read more about Murray Rogers Travel Ltd.)
Where possible, we arrange for two or more people to travel on the
same flight and we will let you have the names and telephone numbers of other
volunteers on your flight, so that you can chat to each other or even meet up
before leaving for your placement.
We can also arrange your flight
dates to give you additional time at the end of your project for travelling
around and sightseeing - this is a fascinating and wondrous country!
Where possible, all flights we
arrange for you have changeable return tickets because many of our volunteers
choose to extend their stay once they are in their destination country.
Changeable return tickets enable you to do so, within the limits of your visa
and the level of your air ticket, of course. If you choose to book your own
flights, you should endeavour to get a changeable ticket. We meet you at the
airport regardless of whether you make your own travel arrangements or not.
You will fly into the Airport in Johannesburg where,
time permitting, you may be
welcomed by a Travellers representative. She will ensure that your
transfer to an internal
flight taking you to George is smooth and hassle-free.
To read about the extensiveSupport & Backup we provide in our countries,
please click here.
In George you will be met by our Manager, Bill
Fussell, or a member of his staff. Bill was born in England and
emigrated to South Africa many years ago.
VISAS:. In countries where visas or
immigration documents are required, we'll send you all the necessary forms and
information and make the process very easy for you.
.
+44 01903 502595
