A volunteers perspective by Sameer Swarup I remember chancing upon an advertisement for the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme on Facebook and having my interest piqued by the words “Whale Shark”. It was those two words that compelled me to commit to a research programme I had never heard of and to make a 2 […]
Flash Competition! Who has the earliest film / photographic record of a whale shark in the Maldives? We were recently sent some footage from the 90’s of a whale shark seen in the Maldives and that got us thinking: our database extends back to 2006 when we went on our first expedition, but just how […]
(Scroll down for the English version) Ein Tag aus dem Leben als Volunteer auf Dhigurah Vom 29.10. – 11.11. bin ich als Volunteer im Maldives Whaleshark Research Programme im Einsatz. Neben Hardy, der gerade fuer seine Masterarbeit forscht und Basith, dem Fieldscientist, bin ich in diesem Zeitraum der einzige Volunteer im Projekt. Dieser Beitrag soll […]
How do strangers become a family? As a world-traveling nomad, I’m constantly meeting new people and have come to appreciate that friends are the family you choose. But how do complete strangers become a family? In my short time with the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP), I have gained valuable insights into that question. I have experienced […]
Scroll down for the English translation “Il est 10 heures ce matin et cela fait un peu moins d’une semaine que je suis de retour dans ma ville natale après avoir vécu une expérience qui va probablement changer le cours de ma vie. Il m’a fallu digéré tout cela, mais mes souvenirs sont intacts et […]
Scroll down for the English translation El Sueño Azul Tras un largo viaje, cuatro aviones y un barco ya me encuentro en Dhigurah. Es mi primera noche aquí y no puedo dormir. Se escucha el ruido de la lluvia caer sobre las hojas y el ruido del mar de Laquedivas. En estas aguas merodean seres […]
Scroll down for the English translation Gergasi Di Balik Gelombang “Jump!” Arahan Farouk, pembantu juragan dhoni kedengaran tegas. Aku bergegas menyarung sirip kaki dan bergerak pantas ke bibir geladak depan sejurus selepas rakan sepasukan terjun ke laut. Mataku membidik tudingan jari Farouk ke lokasi di mana yu paus telah dilihat. Aku menghela nafas dari dalam […]
In November 2016 I spent 4 weeks on the Whale Shark project in the Maldives. The first two weeks in a small group of 3 volunteers and the second 2 weeks in a group of 7. Iru, Alex and Ed who help run the project, have an amazing passion for the it as well as extensive […]
Hi, I’m Sam, an MSc student from the university of York who was lucky enough a couple of months ago to come to Dhigurah Maldives to work for and collect data for my Master’s dissertation, on the factors that influence Whale Shark’s preferred aggregation sites. Now, after having returned to the UK and completed my […]
“SHAAARK get IN the water” … takes a while to get your head around the fact that you are jumping in to the ocean to swim with a shark where most people would be swimming the opposite direction. But alike most marine species in our oceans, the moment you enter the water with a Whale […]
