tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72258572941790112062024-02-20T18:53:33.191-08:00Seychelles Turtles With MCSSTurtle monitoring around Mahe Seychelles with the Marine Conservation Society SeychellesThe Marine Conservation Society, Seychelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10714499455119783745noreply@blogger.comBlogger222125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-35586031301878003062020-01-27T02:03:00.002-08:002020-02-25T21:46:13.829-08:002019-2020 Sea turtle nesting season updateThis season 2019-2020 has been a very busy one so far, with relevant improvement compared to the previous season, especially in terms of the number of emergences and nests recorded.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKaDUK9Z_kNtDiQ-sy7WIYfSko8tPB7VZvcONCetWcMfMLETUNxmnWdWi-ts5D56c6FLhL23cG5dz1vqjHSEFh47G2p5XPaD4n77IarrVwGj3JGPTjeKfGTkvNCrCa4P_1pLE2JfZOOo/s1600/20191111_110342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKaDUK9Z_kNtDiQ-sy7WIYfSko8tPB7VZvcONCetWcMfMLETUNxmnWdWi-ts5D56c6FLhL23cG5dz1vqjHSEFh47G2p5XPaD4n77IarrVwGj3JGPTjeKfGTkvNCrCa4P_1pLE2JfZOOo/s320/20191111_110342.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 80%; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Safely heading back to sea after successfully nesting</td></tr>
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So far, MCSS has recorded 444 emergences and 266 nests in total from both Green and Hawksbill turtles, with the majority of records being related to the Hawksbill turtles. Green turtles are observed nesting all year round compared to Hawksbill turtles that particularly nest during October through to March. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNk7e2pxBqX_19LtQ7Cd2W3KYROxIqNqizhDkvH_U6uBl2kSUh8e_UDs9OpGUd8aX_qHiwDYVaR64bZ4GafDeuZLSzO1IwmJixN4NqMRywUvLcldlvqaUS8hLV5PuMnbv8AgSXYvfQGo/s1600/20200113_144019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNk7e2pxBqX_19LtQ7Cd2W3KYROxIqNqizhDkvH_U6uBl2kSUh8e_UDs9OpGUd8aX_qHiwDYVaR64bZ4GafDeuZLSzO1IwmJixN4NqMRywUvLcldlvqaUS8hLV5PuMnbv8AgSXYvfQGo/s320/20200113_144019.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 80%; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">A beautiful shot of a Hawksbill turtle heading back to sea</td></tr>
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We had the chance of having 41 <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Hawksbill turtles</span> encounters so far in the season, and these can sometimes be from the same turtles being encountered several times in the season. Through our photo-identification process, we discovered that one of the turtles was last seen back in 2015, so it was a great joy to see her nesting successfully again for this season.<br />
Poaching remains a major concern and unfortunately at least a dozen turtles have been recorded as poached for this season by MCSS, with the majority being Hawksbill turtles and in most cases the female had obviously not had the chance to lay her eggs, but was instead dragged away by poachers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3hn_f4zuRiHjMhkATuFfh8F_uzmJdpsSQ1YtUtK9bDMwrlMzWe8Yie91tR1xmBvRfKCu57i8AiTmlHb1ZJ66sWLbctqbhrh_Oe7ABFUHyue3SP83iCEtU-G2IUer6U9V_ud_DvLNY8A/s1600/20190920_094817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3hn_f4zuRiHjMhkATuFfh8F_uzmJdpsSQ1YtUtK9bDMwrlMzWe8Yie91tR1xmBvRfKCu57i8AiTmlHb1ZJ66sWLbctqbhrh_Oe7ABFUHyue3SP83iCEtU-G2IUer6U9V_ud_DvLNY8A/s320/20190920_094817.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 80%; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">A vulnerable female turtle seeking to nest</td></tr>
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Hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red list, consuming their meat is also very risky as they feed on sponges that contain toxins, but it is nonetheless still practiced with consumers either buying the meat off as Green turtle meat unknowingly or some others claiming to know how to prepare it without being intoxicated. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nKiJVmwqsK2bEQwM2gArM50ggVezou7diHUsRduseraMpTvbPIZAmXtX0NiorbSl54mlVZ-hndXcbVAsIVs-2qRfbbyT2zNGUIUTPCC0L7yNzQvgxq_4rLXm2DuEheLmsrhogh5upeQ/s1600/20200122_110458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nKiJVmwqsK2bEQwM2gArM50ggVezou7diHUsRduseraMpTvbPIZAmXtX0NiorbSl54mlVZ-hndXcbVAsIVs-2qRfbbyT2zNGUIUTPCC0L7yNzQvgxq_4rLXm2DuEheLmsrhogh5upeQ/s320/20200122_110458.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Poached turtle carcass</span></div>
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The fact remains that sea turtles are protected under the law and their population are still at risk of extinction, so conservation of the species remains one of our main goal. <br />
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MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-80043803521321530612020-01-11T05:53:00.000-08:002020-01-11T05:53:08.218-08:00Experienced volunteers<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #1d2228; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hello all!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfyyOPVveKzoEjerPzf0cqpeADnOwsES99U7Z2mJdiwb0qyD9QXR9HFifbqYBZUOpcbWjKKNx6p42_fXV2T50h2nLuBlDeuWf7WzOBLkgzWVZps_dDWRTJDLn1FTSdYtuJIo1fFDiiIU/s1600/20200108_093644+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfyyOPVveKzoEjerPzf0cqpeADnOwsES99U7Z2mJdiwb0qyD9QXR9HFifbqYBZUOpcbWjKKNx6p42_fXV2T50h2nLuBlDeuWf7WzOBLkgzWVZps_dDWRTJDLn1FTSdYtuJIo1fFDiiIU/s200/20200108_093644+-+Copy.jpg" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 80%; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Hawksbill hatchlings starting their journey</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I am Jacqueline from Switzerland.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I fell in love with Seychelles flora and fauna after visiting the islands of Aride and Cousin in 2008. I love nature, in particular plants, birds, turtles and mammals, and feel it is my moral duty to spend some of my time helping to preserve the beauty that nature brings in our lives! What would it be without it?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgVyIV7Kv6M2DeYNguQTu8d65TqPkxkaQxuZFrogFioE2-JoG1rsGKyNDSDdYS5uJfFaFzOv2Lu5p_oXE3fj2HBUmvNfErpKV_XhhpeYUQ72Oi8ObkSHiz6dzMscPdY5mG9cdN-RBNJs/s1600/20191230_095758+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgVyIV7Kv6M2DeYNguQTu8d65TqPkxkaQxuZFrogFioE2-JoG1rsGKyNDSDdYS5uJfFaFzOv2Lu5p_oXE3fj2HBUmvNfErpKV_XhhpeYUQ72Oi8ObkSHiz6dzMscPdY5mG9cdN-RBNJs/s320/20191230_095758+-+Copy.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 80%; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Data recording on the Trimble</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After having volunteered with sea turtles in the Maldives and on North Island, Seychelles, I wanted to learn more about turtle conservation, photo identification, nest relocation, nesting behavior and collecting accurate data for the purpose of conservation and protection of the beautiful Hawksbill and Green Turtles which nest on Mahé Island.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vl_KVgMIcDU0WPQnjYy2K4eXg5-ZpVK9z3JFShEA5ryhb9at4A173QDQGNVYaU2_Z4LKX0ygF4zGG14cjokRllsC0wkzCye_8jRc9mwrfgMgbrTebHpVZi4iH1pXANa2AhSkeZ0ehFw/s1600/20191220_101922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vl_KVgMIcDU0WPQnjYy2K4eXg5-ZpVK9z3JFShEA5ryhb9at4A173QDQGNVYaU2_Z4LKX0ygF4zGG14cjokRllsC0wkzCye_8jRc9mwrfgMgbrTebHpVZi4iH1pXANa2AhSkeZ0ehFw/s320/20191220_101922.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 80%; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Subduing a turtle for data collection</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As well as the turtle patrols, I love the bird surveying we do at MCSS. It’s also great fun to learn about beach profiling, feeding and cleaning the Giant Tortoise enclosure, and giving them a scrub once in while. I hope they will eventually be released on North or Curieuse Island where they would be able to roam and graze freely, and live their natural long life for more then 200 years!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I am also looking forward to learn more about the Terrapin Monitoring Program at the Center in the wetlands at Anse Intendance.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Last but not least, I also enjoy informing interested tourists and Seychelloise about what needs to be done in order to preserve the precious coastal biodiversity, and to help raise awareness of the many threats that the wildlife is confronted with.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdSEwtfrE283FFjO56zYYMLjRgqFLIjhU9s9TRL4fzZdBHIgTYPxFCH7yRU1ooddWY91RAPOq_9-s45aY8Mqq6f1xkVonEUgeHxj5Xhp9LTkObMZVp4uA6O4yVUjS_XQpjOo9M0a8xU8/s1600/20191230_091810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdSEwtfrE283FFjO56zYYMLjRgqFLIjhU9s9TRL4fzZdBHIgTYPxFCH7yRU1ooddWY91RAPOq_9-s45aY8Mqq6f1xkVonEUgeHxj5Xhp9LTkObMZVp4uA6O4yVUjS_XQpjOo9M0a8xU8/s320/20191230_091810.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 80%; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Digging up a nest to check hatching success</td></tr>
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MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-39657321295132516402019-09-13T03:40:00.003-07:002019-09-13T03:40:29.544-07:00Emily Cruse
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hi! My name is Emily Cruse and I am a
Veterinary Student from Bristol, England. I am here at MCSS for four weeks to
gain experience in treating chelonians. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMNJ5nnyldYyDUIFtqmej-oQCKJejQNCFMdArCLJI2z476ufxJdIAlemEENB9mDWApdA4EWQeoyuxyjyJH7CxnktEeacXjfmcYyrrlXwjwGkB1-L2LiJgHkWrtVOnUrjvx1s2lq7A8JU/s1600/IMG-20190913-WA0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="287" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMNJ5nnyldYyDUIFtqmej-oQCKJejQNCFMdArCLJI2z476ufxJdIAlemEENB9mDWApdA4EWQeoyuxyjyJH7CxnktEeacXjfmcYyrrlXwjwGkB1-L2LiJgHkWrtVOnUrjvx1s2lq7A8JU/s320/IMG-20190913-WA0001.jpg" width="151" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My time here at the Banyan Tree
rehabilitation center started with me performing a Post Mortem examination on a
hawksbill turtle that had died the day before. It is a sad but necessary part
of the job as it allows us to learn what had caused the death and how others
could be treated in the future. </span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaU510FUQgtq4zrPf0NTQ56BAFqrK6iEJgkgoJv6r2N3JGTkeK4M07Csklo582AiX5aynMXMim5Dci-rqn_W9pBIZIncdNQlg-RPQluUb17f2IzlYnSszC-YZfBH-hmp49shyphenhyphenV4l-TGQ/s1600/received_2459820277592017.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="436" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaU510FUQgtq4zrPf0NTQ56BAFqrK6iEJgkgoJv6r2N3JGTkeK4M07Csklo582AiX5aynMXMim5Dci-rqn_W9pBIZIncdNQlg-RPQluUb17f2IzlYnSszC-YZfBH-hmp49shyphenhyphenV4l-TGQ/s320/received_2459820277592017.jpeg" width="212" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Day to day I spend my time with the
trapping team performing health checks on any terrapins we catch. This involves
looking for any signs of external injuries or parasites as well as weighing and
measuring them. I also X-Ray any females to see if they are pregnant. During my
time here I also treated one of the resident giant tortoises for an eye
infection. Luckily it was noticed early so there was no need to use antibiotics
and it resolved quickly.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When I’m not treating animals I carry
out my own research project analysing the data collected from the trapping
team. Using over four years worth of data I have been developing a body
condition index scoring system for both the black mud and yellow belly
terrapins. I hope this will be used in future to aid the rehabilitation of sick
terrapins and help select the most appropriate ones for the breeding program. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><strike></strike><strike></strike><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-71996861542580643062019-07-23T03:09:00.001-07:002019-07-23T03:09:32.744-07:00THe Maritime students are back!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHinjEsvhm_E69OJAU90Y4GnOzwoKn5OiLf9T1PWosk-jASGwtSfjKB3nlg-1nGW2R6LMdFWe0ogwjxk2cH6T1TZezuJppspiJhF25l7mLOhHuUf03HM1cWSDQ2eDln5JW7acVrl0EHM/s1600/20190717_093406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHinjEsvhm_E69OJAU90Y4GnOzwoKn5OiLf9T1PWosk-jASGwtSfjKB3nlg-1nGW2R6LMdFWe0ogwjxk2cH6T1TZezuJppspiJhF25l7mLOhHuUf03HM1cWSDQ2eDln5JW7acVrl0EHM/s320/20190717_093406.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach patrol on Anse Grand Police</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Hi I’m Esthel
Didon from Seychelles Maritime Academy and I’m<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>studying Advanced Certificate in Fisheries Science and Fishing
Technology. I’m currently on attachment at MCSS (Marine Conservation Society
Seychelles) at Intendance, WCRC & Terrapin Project.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">During the
work attachment trapping is one of the many activities taking place here.
Trapping is done to catch terrapins around the wetland to monitor their
development, as in growth and weight, and also marking them by colouring their
scutes with nail polish for identification. Treatment can also take place if
needed. There two species of terrapins found in Seychelles and they are both
critically endangered, those are the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Black
muds</b> and the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Yellow belly</b>. The
traps for the terrapins are set on Mondays and are continuously monitored
during the week for any terrapins, then the traps are removed at the end of the
week which is on Fridays.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="767" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwKuKWT4y2kXSHSMRpDwinPncYAWZoXhmv50WTmxqQRMw1qzo-uLtsrwExw0ak3Cq_uOScz6h6H_pc7Jfl-HhsGeoMYsU7QzbzDnBjtxsV4iLvAMW3xU6J7m2kBqOfgCrieD_fN91m0A/s320/IMG-20190723-WA0011.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="239" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Invasive plant removal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwKuKWT4y2kXSHSMRpDwinPncYAWZoXhmv50WTmxqQRMw1qzo-uLtsrwExw0ak3Cq_uOScz6h6H_pc7Jfl-HhsGeoMYsU7QzbzDnBjtxsV4iLvAMW3xU6J7m2kBqOfgCrieD_fN91m0A/s1600/IMG-20190723-WA0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #b00000;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwKuKWT4y2kXSHSMRpDwinPncYAWZoXhmv50WTmxqQRMw1qzo-uLtsrwExw0ak3Cq_uOScz6h6H_pc7Jfl-HhsGeoMYsU7QzbzDnBjtxsV4iLvAMW3xU6J7m2kBqOfgCrieD_fN91m0A/s1600/IMG-20190723-WA0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">In addition
to the above, removal of invasive species is also done when necessary, as the
word itself says it’s to prevent its invasion in the wetland. The invasive species
causes many threats to the wetland most especially the terrapins, that might
eventually create an imbalance in the wetland ecosystem.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNBhyphenhyphen1qtpw0JAKfET-aKyWXdDZRqO5pRLyJGxCz0mAF5ZgnE0LDPDjY12RrfDll6M2XLi2z-Zo4gHK27sg3ktbeNt-pNgAXjpTjbOGz-QetNEoayq_PR3bpJ9BntWSGeIwpkB6SxHjCE/s1600/20190717_095838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNBhyphenhyphen1qtpw0JAKfET-aKyWXdDZRqO5pRLyJGxCz0mAF5ZgnE0LDPDjY12RrfDll6M2XLi2z-Zo4gHK27sg3ktbeNt-pNgAXjpTjbOGz-QetNEoayq_PR3bpJ9BntWSGeIwpkB6SxHjCE/s320/20190717_095838.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach clean up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Nevertheless,
beach patrol takes place everyday during the turtle’s peak season (mainly for
the Hawksbill species), however when its not the peak season the beach patrol
is done only once a week on 14 </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">beaches down south that are covered
for any turtle related activities such as nests, tracks, hatchlings and also
human impacts (such as poaching, picnicking and pollution). The Green turtles
usually nest all year round.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Besides the
field work, there’s also interaction with the guests where I need to take the
guests for a tour around the center and explain how things work, especially
about the project itself.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-39244546109458660312019-07-23T02:57:00.001-07:002019-07-23T02:57:32.648-07:00Joshua's internship with MCSS<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBHrSAOCMBsBv_4f5WXqAWqQKxksiDX7GpKcpToLXdAal81Vrmj5D7JL46JxzSyjD_T7ojrVM1AvQjbkyLZuO2ExEfz4qa97FcqUNcQjhn1jyoCqnDcyKZZd-emhYNfgwh9xTjHQqlxQ/s1600/20190712_100140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; font-family: calibri; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBHrSAOCMBsBv_4f5WXqAWqQKxksiDX7GpKcpToLXdAal81Vrmj5D7JL46JxzSyjD_T7ojrVM1AvQjbkyLZuO2ExEfz4qa97FcqUNcQjhn1jyoCqnDcyKZZd-emhYNfgwh9xTjHQqlxQ/s320/20190712_100140.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach patrolling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Hi, my name is Joshua Maria, I am
currently studying environmental science at the University of Seychelles. My
interest is doing wildlife activities, such as taking part in beach clean
ups conducted by The Ocean Project. </span><span style="font-family: calibri;">For the summer, I am undertaking my
internship at the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles’ Wildlife Conservation
and Rehabilitation Centre, located at Intendance. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">During the past few weeks of
my internship, I have gained knowledge about freshwater terrapins and sea
turtles, taken part in beach patrols. These required us to assess the beach for
any sea turtle tracks or nests present, as most of the beaches located in the
south of Mahe are popular sea turtle nesting sites.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjennZEtwt3YfdIq_b_C2OxjDJOVSgUbSXqUWtE84L96S82Y5z7txiQqVxrJ_rcfMlKb4jWIWuKTqiMndQwys70jqYKmIBiuwaWNJ-tNLExYsOIC9ENN7ht1aTNgCnTOIRsqvJRGUPtn0c/s1600/IMG-20190723-WA0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjennZEtwt3YfdIq_b_C2OxjDJOVSgUbSXqUWtE84L96S82Y5z7txiQqVxrJ_rcfMlKb4jWIWuKTqiMndQwys70jqYKmIBiuwaWNJ-tNLExYsOIC9ENN7ht1aTNgCnTOIRsqvJRGUPtn0c/s320/IMG-20190723-WA0010.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Invasive plants removal at the banyan tree wetland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: calibri;"> I also had the opportunity
to assist the Animal welfare officer in relocating the 8 freshwater terrapins
back to their natural habitat, at the recently rehabilitated Anse Royale
wetland, witnessed by Anse Royale secondary and A level students. However, I
had the most extraordinary start to my internship, because I witnessed the
release of the hawksbill turtle named Pink, who was released back into the sea
after 2 months of rehabilitation. I hope to come back for my next internship.</span><span style="color: #00b050; margin: 0px;"></span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: calibri;"></span>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-37772570429992827372019-07-01T22:26:00.002-07:002019-07-01T22:26:49.021-07:00Harry the long term volunteer!<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My
name is Harry Johnson and I am with MCSS for 5-6months of volunteering. After
graduating from my Master’s, I decided I needed some practical
conservation/research experience. I chose MCSS because of their project on
Temporal Protected Areas. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ408XZ4sCVm1Tzgu6EnRSIR1WVtymAYeXPeGa2Sxig2EofhLzpthXKJD8x2hiCmrhaMC5_0ZSC12OHWh_Y-cpy8EdX9-fQHGzXIPakFZ8hoEqtABALruORzbhH5Zmk5WrJE_wIeW_efI/s1600/IMG_0222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ408XZ4sCVm1Tzgu6EnRSIR1WVtymAYeXPeGa2Sxig2EofhLzpthXKJD8x2hiCmrhaMC5_0ZSC12OHWh_Y-cpy8EdX9-fQHGzXIPakFZ8hoEqtABALruORzbhH5Zmk5WrJE_wIeW_efI/s320/IMG_0222.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Investigating a possible turtle nest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Additionally, the Western Indian Ocean is an area
which has received less scientific attention than others e.g. the North
Atlantic in the field of marine science /conservation. This means it can be
argued that data collected in this geographic area disproportionately more
value than elsewhere.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXh3GNuPvVAyk9fbYxpglqCnQodDAP_bhe021W4XWlyohbxhMkXDgRYSXX5QefoJeIN9DBGdDRrQ3cnzZpdNk6xJWiO0nynQCJ2Oi6ONIB0LmkMLA45xkqBVCy4C960OLOHUXQhgI5ww/s1600/20190626_104957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXh3GNuPvVAyk9fbYxpglqCnQodDAP_bhe021W4XWlyohbxhMkXDgRYSXX5QefoJeIN9DBGdDRrQ3cnzZpdNk6xJWiO0nynQCJ2Oi6ONIB0LmkMLA45xkqBVCy4C960OLOHUXQhgI5ww/s320/20190626_104957.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Beach profiling with the ladies!</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">So
far, I have learned how to feed and care for a variety of chelonians, learnt
the protocols for beach patrols and what data to collect. Other skills include
what to do from a research perspective when encountering a turtle that is
nesting or attempting to nest. More novel skills include how to use a machete. I
intend to broaden my skill set as much as possible during my time here and am
confident that I will be a better researcher/ conservationist by the end of it.
I have three personal goals as well; to improve my diving, to climb Morne
Seychellois, and to see as much of the wildlife the Seychelles has to offer</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">.</span></span></div>
MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-53075115693983229112019-06-24T04:19:00.000-07:002019-06-24T04:19:50.600-07:00Ambre's intoduction<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Hi! I am Ambre Chabert and I come from Marseille,
south of France. I have a degree in biodiversity and ecology, and I am going to
start a master's degree in marine ecology (IMBRSea). I have always been
interested by the ocean and its secrets. Therefore, I would like to become a
marine ecology researcher. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: right; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 16px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QDaAbLd_dYLVio9LhpYOONnI_Zm3Ei_GMn32VQxgEEoQSviOWv83ZjAkmUmYVswDV6YCgkN7KG56u0DCdqTmyIMUrz_Yz4Q1r5noWai0XyoTVFCZEN37eOpPzMtNxfEsvLUjrCaV2CI/s1600/64627833_2407509115935798_7435815521662009344_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QDaAbLd_dYLVio9LhpYOONnI_Zm3Ei_GMn32VQxgEEoQSviOWv83ZjAkmUmYVswDV6YCgkN7KG56u0DCdqTmyIMUrz_Yz4Q1r5noWai0XyoTVFCZEN37eOpPzMtNxfEsvLUjrCaV2CI/s320/64627833_2407509115935798_7435815521662009344_n.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">conducting beach patrol</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">To gain more field experience, I am now an intern at
the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles, as part of the Temporal Protected
Areas project. For this project, we, along with other interns/volunteers and
Vanessa (the project coordinator), conduct beach patrols to monitor nesting
turtles. As it is not the peak nesting season, we monitor anthropogenic disturbance
to evaluate factors that could be an obstacle for nesting turtles. There are
only two species of turtle that nest in the Seychelles: the hawksbill turtle
and the green turtle; critically endangered and endangered respectively. The
hawksbill turtle nesting season is from October to January, whereas green
turtles nest all year round. In fact, there is a green turtle nest currently and
we might have to relocate it, since it is washed away by waves. MCSS monitors
nesting turtles, identifies them, monitors the nests, relocates them if
necessary and escorts the hatchlings to the sea when encountered. By doing so,
they discourage poachers and increase the chances of survival of the hatchlings.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIS8XFnV1mKMXBSuobCOT9TBjENOdvlSkrIE4twIKD-VwTCQNO3aqqdusbnWrmS-syacRnzc9DdiK8nAX2U0pZXILO_Ney3_DoBVdDYHvXtO_6oYMv62uhtS-Cf25iSKPqz_Mlctqr4-Y/s1600/64312265_2362258180767779_1605462335772688384_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIS8XFnV1mKMXBSuobCOT9TBjENOdvlSkrIE4twIKD-VwTCQNO3aqqdusbnWrmS-syacRnzc9DdiK8nAX2U0pZXILO_Ney3_DoBVdDYHvXtO_6oYMv62uhtS-Cf25iSKPqz_Mlctqr4-Y/s320/64312265_2362258180767779_1605462335772688384_n.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">water quality testing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">I also participate in other projects: monitoring terrapin
population, birds, marine litter, water quality, invertebrates and undertaking coral
restoration. Finally, I help at the Banyan tree center with chelonian care and
maintenance. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">In one week, I have learnt so much and I can’t wait to
see what these next 5 weeks have in store for me. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="height: 50px; left: 0px; margin: 52px 0px 0px 338px; position: absolute; width: 205px; z-index: 251666944;"></span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="height: 50px; left: 0px; margin: 51px 0px 0px; position: absolute; width: 205px; z-index: 251665920;"><img height="50" src="file:///C:/Users/pc/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.png" v:shapes="Zone_x0020_de_x0020_texte_x0020_5" width="205" /></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Ambre, intern, June 2019</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-59994995789544036912019-05-28T02:28:00.001-07:002019-05-28T02:28:29.856-07:002018-2019 turtle nesting season overview<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2SjW1FKs41hZQMrz2ha3UiO1r7533iM_Y5HZiw_wtFnsi5os2ydyFsaGaUSE6RquAjEfXMrEui4godU5nckUuvh_6oG0xRE09A71a3xOKvy4WYKPwgahaDRiIfneayRIj0zgoFIuuA8s/s1600/DJI_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2SjW1FKs41hZQMrz2ha3UiO1r7533iM_Y5HZiw_wtFnsi5os2ydyFsaGaUSE6RquAjEfXMrEui4godU5nckUuvh_6oG0xRE09A71a3xOKvy4WYKPwgahaDRiIfneayRIj0zgoFIuuA8s/s400/DJI_0048.JPG" width="400" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">As the 2018-2019 turtles nesting season almost comes to an end, with the peak of the season long gone and hatching season also over. We have done a preliminary analysis of collected data to see how productive the season has been. In terms of encountered turtles, there were 49 encounters this year
compared to 26 in the previous season 2017-2018, noting that several times these were the same turtles encountered. Moreover, far more tracks and nests have been
recorded for both Hawksbill and Green turtles:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Hawksbill turtle emergences: 283</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Hawksbill turtle nests: 147</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Green turtle emergences: 15</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Green turtle nests: 8</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
<br />MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-37412639743439450772019-05-28T01:38:00.000-07:002019-05-28T01:38:34.421-07:00Rupert Stacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0ryxvG0bIKJfccIcS768xG8HepQ0-YHTgdcuhMiRUxvB0HPh6iabM5HIN5o5a8K_k_iidhj7zYRkbbEbosjqwLo3hYeZsXVYKjiORf7u8mzEVXU0jzPA26tZN_jXw-Bz98oMkcxoKwM/s1600/20190429_105051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0ryxvG0bIKJfccIcS768xG8HepQ0-YHTgdcuhMiRUxvB0HPh6iabM5HIN5o5a8K_k_iidhj7zYRkbbEbosjqwLo3hYeZsXVYKjiORf7u8mzEVXU0jzPA26tZN_jXw-Bz98oMkcxoKwM/s320/20190429_105051.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">My name is Rupert Stacy and I am a master’s
student on the IMBRSea program, focusing on management of marine biological
resources. I came to Seychelles to work with the MCSS and gain valuable insight
into how their project on temporal protected areas is implemented. The idea of
temporal protected areas is an interesting one. Having management plans for
threatened species at vulnerable life stages is critical for conservation
efforts. Thus, identifying how the project has collected, analysed and reported
on seasonal habitat use of species, in this case marine turtles, I thought
would be a very useful set of transferable skills that I might be able to use
later in my own career. </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-67562158229006489392019-03-25T04:12:00.001-07:002019-03-25T04:12:28.947-07:00Mylene and Maiwenn from France joins MCSS for a short internship<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiyCV75CVVfD-aPFny1dOw4UrhjlsaiFZce_w52n6vyCyE5rsuKM0qLgICUD5W_2Plda0py8oaIoQG_CSOpQfo8-mL0UQm6bnEu9jpshnBIYEXQjqpxJ3E1eRLor53bYYQNzlOUa4GknU/s1600/IMG_8355.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiyCV75CVVfD-aPFny1dOw4UrhjlsaiFZce_w52n6vyCyE5rsuKM0qLgICUD5W_2Plda0py8oaIoQG_CSOpQfo8-mL0UQm6bnEu9jpshnBIYEXQjqpxJ3E1eRLor53bYYQNzlOUa4GknU/s320/IMG_8355.jpeg" width="240" /></a><span lang="FR" style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="FR" style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">We are two interns at the
MCSS currently working on the temporal protected area project with the help of
our project leader, Vanessa. Our aim is to collect and analyse data from the
main sea turtle nesting beaches and try to make it a protected area. To achieve
this, we are helping on patrolling the beaches to find tracks (turtles,
anthropogenic, other animals…) and checking the recorded turtle nests, to check
the hatching success. </span><br />
<span lang="FR" style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">When a nest has hatched,we excavate the nest and count
the number of hatched eggs, the predated ones and the ones that didn’t make it
and we collect the data .</span><br />
<span lang="FR" style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikd0xI2jfbgvGO9B5763rsin-MZSWtdVQuuxLDqqs9HejeU05InGdZQYK9mjI68AkqcWS2kHN1YLVh0ixAYRAbPVthiuIsRK3lnGBpoxkGGspibRDapXABWIqP3R_-cTLLM3BK0cs0DVs/s1600/fbc68ab3-e825-480a-9252-c9887701a5ac+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikd0xI2jfbgvGO9B5763rsin-MZSWtdVQuuxLDqqs9HejeU05InGdZQYK9mjI68AkqcWS2kHN1YLVh0ixAYRAbPVthiuIsRK3lnGBpoxkGGspibRDapXABWIqP3R_-cTLLM3BK0cs0DVs/s320/fbc68ab3-e825-480a-9252-c9887701a5ac+2.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
helping a weak hatchling</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we get some luck, as we did on the last Tuesday,
we can witness the nest hatching and help the baby turtles get to the water
safely <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>by removing obstacles in their
path and guiding them as they make their imprints on the way to the sea, we can
count them directly…although this can be a bit difficult ! However that
was an incredible experience, something we thought we would never see !<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaq0yjqDOEaqmBtwpq6HOyFZSFeUcJ8Cx8yhWmHPCJNUnfWt7Vvqdqa9QPJpY3fqZ7od01T6Xxt35TQEHzXMHnk97sPj_mURCA81t4vAvzywhvJuUePUBI9FrOpz-VBTugfDTwx0xZZo/s1600/IMG_8231+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaq0yjqDOEaqmBtwpq6HOyFZSFeUcJ8Cx8yhWmHPCJNUnfWt7Vvqdqa9QPJpY3fqZ7od01T6Xxt35TQEHzXMHnk97sPj_mURCA81t4vAvzywhvJuUePUBI9FrOpz-VBTugfDTwx0xZZo/s320/IMG_8231+2.PNG" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">one of the many little ones!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="FR" style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">The other part of the time,
we help at the office by taking care of the giant tortoises and the center
itself. Finally part of our job is to raise awareness about the Seychelles
wildlife by giving tours to the tourists and children by organising presentations
and short workshops at the schools.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tcSGpeyqVDYtcCVn1hNZGfRQCukAfNQXn5SUcrD3EpGVWCz2gYuN9VfhuyLFs9ACNAj8Ft6FVFMu6Ll2eA76PQcuwHn1ZMTVqXkXi1_WAfhtxRdeXEqFj-Wrw0d4OGSu-nswpHdVRpo/s1600/IMG_8226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tcSGpeyqVDYtcCVn1hNZGfRQCukAfNQXn5SUcrD3EpGVWCz2gYuN9VfhuyLFs9ACNAj8Ft6FVFMu6Ll2eA76PQcuwHn1ZMTVqXkXi1_WAfhtxRdeXEqFj-Wrw0d4OGSu-nswpHdVRpo/s320/IMG_8226.JPG" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast time!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-78179524465805106892019-02-19T02:14:00.005-08:002019-02-19T02:15:27.502-08:00Justin's internship so far..<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">My internship with MCSS</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Hey, my name is
Justin and I am a master student in marine biology doing my thesis research in
the Seychelles. Here I am studying the hatching success of the Hawksbill sea
turtles in the South of Mahé island together with the staff of MCSS. I have been here now for a month and I must say that, even though I am
here to work, every day feels like a holiday. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 160.5px; margin-right: 160.5px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1yLW90iMxlh8sJfbdYFloMDXUmtmW02PXOmz6pI884a1_mfNiEUazahwjc1qIsANPrSr2-9W9fMWKdrGkWTTKJha-od2Hz2sjF3OmT4BMmUZauRGcqvGIfxzdegmVcPlfjsW2P_4_FM/s1600/20190208_104213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1yLW90iMxlh8sJfbdYFloMDXUmtmW02PXOmz6pI884a1_mfNiEUazahwjc1qIsANPrSr2-9W9fMWKdrGkWTTKJha-od2Hz2sjF3OmT4BMmUZauRGcqvGIfxzdegmVcPlfjsW2P_4_FM/s320/20190208_104213.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
watching out for a weak hatchling</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Watching turtles
nest on the beaches every couple of days, giant tortoises at my backdoor, all
kinds of colourful birds flying around. Life in paradise..</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Not every day is
a holiday of course, because I am here on an internship studying the hatching
success of hawksbill sea turtles, so my job here is to do beach patrols every
other day to try and find tracks of nesting sea turtles, and by doing this,
identifying nest locations. Furthermore, I have to dig up hatched nests to see
what amount of young turtles made it out alive. Then I will try to link this to
several environmental factors to find out what is actually the cause of a good
or bad hatching success. </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Other than that
I always try to help out at the centre by feeding the tortoises, cleaning the
terrapin tanks and cleaning up when necessary. i already learnt a lot regarding
the local wildlife and<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I hope I will be
able to learn much more in the coming months!</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-4974682630660908972019-02-19T01:46:00.000-08:002019-02-19T01:46:15.953-08:00Samantha's internship so far<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">My name is
Samantha Stott, I am 22 years old and currently doing my master thesis with
MCSS. The aim of my project is to assess potential Hawksbill nesting sites
using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in Mahé.</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHgZyn48Omoh-wnaAJuWKNl3tbTWctgqu9mPQfoEFxJ1XUSLUg3zQ2aMe5037uBLHK1pzAd6yb7iCC2-Kp3bdjMvKH-Hbfd8foKWYgdP9aBtHCN-PhaxWfSXBeo58d-MzjCDVi77wukU/s1600/IMG-20190124-WA0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHgZyn48Omoh-wnaAJuWKNl3tbTWctgqu9mPQfoEFxJ1XUSLUg3zQ2aMe5037uBLHK1pzAd6yb7iCC2-Kp3bdjMvKH-Hbfd8foKWYgdP9aBtHCN-PhaxWfSXBeo58d-MzjCDVi77wukU/s320/IMG-20190124-WA0010.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">learning to handle the drone!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> I decided to do this project
with MCSS as they have a long history of working with marine turtles. It has
now been a month since I have started my project, although it did not start
well due to the rainy seasons which meant we were not able to fly the drone we
are now on target to finishing all the data collection thanks to the nice warm
sunshine. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Every
Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, I go on patrol looking for new nests and turtle
tracks, some patrols have been very wet and others very hot, but it is always
very rewarding when we get to see a turtle come up the beach and lay its eggs. In
fact, I was lucky enough to see a turtle come up the beach and lay its eggs the
second time I went patrolling. This was an amazing experience to be able get
close and be able to admire such a beautiful species. However, do not
underestimate how strong these beautiful turtles are…. During one of the
patrols we had to restrain a Hawksbill turtle to measure its carapace and take
pictures of its head for identification purposes…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0BWwP-f1BeA06U01-eGtQKSUhLPH2nzyliugWFelxYVzqOlK2cUvQTCs9yjioNIVetp-X9OO3KeO15gUSY6mBRvIUTosBNSYgR3T_z8jGptKqot0R2Z-aSxVrGWWY1H1NWb7QZPmkw0/s1600/IMG_20190213_104001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0BWwP-f1BeA06U01-eGtQKSUhLPH2nzyliugWFelxYVzqOlK2cUvQTCs9yjioNIVetp-X9OO3KeO15gUSY6mBRvIUTosBNSYgR3T_z8jGptKqot0R2Z-aSxVrGWWY1H1NWb7QZPmkw0/s320/IMG_20190213_104001.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Trying to get photo ID shots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> However, this never happened
as it was just too strong to restrain, leaving me with scratches all over my
feet and ankles (No hard feelings still love them).</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: #000120; font-family: "times new roman";"></span></u><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmb9BB7ZwnKgBrGjpDssh7FsKHBwbdsow1LaOOuzpgXjsEN6is7YtOIL1rUwDQoipN1FZ-SendQYucii_FSJWEjyyUcWNNqdh9VXuLNg5LdxE9lJX3PY2c_Qhq02kJvRMRdQ5JYxekNcc/s1600/IMG_20190117_112334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmb9BB7ZwnKgBrGjpDssh7FsKHBwbdsow1LaOOuzpgXjsEN6is7YtOIL1rUwDQoipN1FZ-SendQYucii_FSJWEjyyUcWNNqdh9VXuLNg5LdxE9lJX3PY2c_Qhq02kJvRMRdQ5JYxekNcc/s320/IMG_20190117_112334.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Hawksbill turtle hatchling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">As time
goes by, I am getting to know more about the MCSS team and the surrounding
environment. I have had the opportunity to try a lot of the local food
including breadfruit which is very nice even if my pallet was a bit confused as
it tasted sweet like a banana but had the texture of a potato. I have not been
able to get around to trying the fruit bat though… And probably won’t ever. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It is a
great opportunity to be able to do what I love in such a beautiful environment.
I would like to say a special thank you to Vanessa for all her guidance and
support during my stay on this beautiful island.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-74199176562589817282018-12-17T00:50:00.003-08:002018-12-17T00:50:53.162-08:00Blue Economy Internship students<i><b>It is with great pleasure that we have been hosting two students from the Blue Economy Internship Programme, who are both showing great interest in the work that we do, especially at the Wildlife Conservation and Rehabilitation Centre where they are based. In the following blogs they share their experiences so far:</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My
first week at MCSS...</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hello!
My name is Johnise Philoe, I’m 17 years old (well until next week), I live at
Baie Lazare and I’m a Blue Economy intern with MCSS that is situated at the Banyan Tree
Resort’s Wildlife Conservation and Rehabilitation Centre. Being there for
2weeks will and is allowing me to experience, widen my knowledge and develop my
skills towards the conservation and rehabilitation of Seychelles’ terrapins (
i.e. the yellow bellied and the black mud turtle species, also known as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Torti soupap’</i> in creole) and the
different types of sea turtles ( but mostly about the hawksbill and green
turtles since they are the only species which nests on the many beaches of the
Seychelles). </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 160.5px; margin-right: 160.5px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCKupg9Rv_TWuJ8uFLKoGDLrn-xuJGJnBiMGaDmf1NES2EUNm5D7-ye6OHqkXtOPqnbpDnFddYjk_DcAI8_-dK0sajkH3sYJf5Y_nc4-LTGXUMEOQK4bxHqnNI_pCzXpONAYywg-gqTQ/s1600/20181211_092557%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCKupg9Rv_TWuJ8uFLKoGDLrn-xuJGJnBiMGaDmf1NES2EUNm5D7-ye6OHqkXtOPqnbpDnFddYjk_DcAI8_-dK0sajkH3sYJf5Y_nc4-LTGXUMEOQK4bxHqnNI_pCzXpONAYywg-gqTQ/s320/20181211_092557%25280%2529.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"> Stephie, Simi(volunteer) and Johnise with nesting turtle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even
though my first week of working at the Centre is almost over, there has been
joyful, memorable, collective and even tiring moments, and lets just say that there
are still more to come. These are some reasons as to why I wake up every
morning to attend my working days there.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rf-M1EtYSO4jXEZHH0WTF_Mav2ju1AR-4yvDqEI1-jWh5mAQIWp3G21HDO5j1-ksXxiz436ehMJbsq2LqYnr93nqwdX00xa0vrGOgJSlulr7Op2qUgGbi12zUSPDMTTcGvi1ygi7FHY/s1600/20181211_081251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rf-M1EtYSO4jXEZHH0WTF_Mav2ju1AR-4yvDqEI1-jWh5mAQIWp3G21HDO5j1-ksXxiz436ehMJbsq2LqYnr93nqwdX00xa0vrGOgJSlulr7Op2qUgGbi12zUSPDMTTcGvi1ygi7FHY/s320/20181211_081251.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnise measuring tracks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8zPsO5JnP4z22A3siqcUwniW8yJFIl_ehpP8U3ruXqfDpkZxQE78UOda7BA9PH3JtSzInwvfT-iH9pXmwUQhyphenhyphenF01UYTLyJ8BFuczqg1b8IP2GLZZGBTX9ApW2AtK9CjJnCijEtOCoMc/s1600/20181212_102554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8zPsO5JnP4z22A3siqcUwniW8yJFIl_ehpP8U3ruXqfDpkZxQE78UOda7BA9PH3JtSzInwvfT-iH9pXmwUQhyphenhyphenF01UYTLyJ8BFuczqg1b8IP2GLZZGBTX9ApW2AtK9CjJnCijEtOCoMc/s320/20181212_102554.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tagging a nest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div>
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My
name is Stephie Dubel, I am 16 years old. And currently interning at MCSS
(Marine Conservation Society Seychelles) on the south Mahe projects, is located at Banyan Tree. <br />
<br />
It's been a week already since I've been working at the MCSS and throughout
this week I managed to mastered as many as I could about Wildlife Conservation
and the projects that are ongoing at the MCSS. <br />
I've learnt that there's only two species of Terrapins in Seychelles! They are
the Black mud Terrapin and Yellow -bellied Terrapin. Apparently I was told by
the Animal welfare officer at MCSS Mr Max Bonfatti that these little creatures
are critically endangered species facing a numerous threats through residential
and commercial development, invasive spices and diseases, pollution and so on.<br />
<br />
During this first week of interning I also learnt how to do the trapping which
is very easy! In the afternoon you just put the traps in some different pond
sites along with some bait in it and every morning we went by each of the pond
sites to check if there's any Terrapins trapped inside. This is usually done
twice daily.<br />
The Terrapins that are caught in the traps are taken to the centre were they
get measured and weighed later they get released back to the pond.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, we also do daily patrol.<br />
This is normally done in the morning. We use a Trimble to record any necessary
data for example if we encounter a sea turtle nesting!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 160.5px; margin-right: 160.5px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSpFYDjEpji6exR7b3Czs4zZS0_IlSkQk993klO_hSu8MuB6FKg738-cxIwfAXy_dm4XCcAJjEc89JU4K9PCBLizh5TCSVQHxB-TuEHw4zmjhh4QOBmi_ye60sYYWe1w6f2MgML1SgdE/s1600/20181212_093930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSpFYDjEpji6exR7b3Czs4zZS0_IlSkQk993klO_hSu8MuB6FKg738-cxIwfAXy_dm4XCcAJjEc89JU4K9PCBLizh5TCSVQHxB-TuEHw4zmjhh4QOBmi_ye60sYYWe1w6f2MgML1SgdE/s320/20181212_093930.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">collecting encounter data on a nesting turtle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
To my knowledge I was told that whenever you encounter a turtle nesting its
better to stand behind <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>her rather than
in front of her because, she might get stressed or feel threatened and return
to the ocean if she notices your presence.<br />
<br />
So far I am enjoying my experience. It's amazing how much I have come to learn
in just one week. And I strongly believe that MCSS I doing a great job.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPzRU6dq5LAee8bAQWKongt2qHXf9sssIhdyTslyUbKuUye7w9soLhpXiOjyGyH7FB3ekl86yD6KaWv4tQH8FtL98UxxjEhWG8OoX9wpT9wkWLOVrznAtplYZde_nd00Fxj_ZzHGloGg/s1600/20181211_101228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPzRU6dq5LAee8bAQWKongt2qHXf9sssIhdyTslyUbKuUye7w9soLhpXiOjyGyH7FB3ekl86yD6KaWv4tQH8FtL98UxxjEhWG8OoX9wpT9wkWLOVrznAtplYZde_nd00Fxj_ZzHGloGg/s320/20181211_101228.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">seeing off their first turtle encounter with MCSS</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><br style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 0px;" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-25749866715487397332018-12-03T21:13:00.001-08:002018-12-03T21:13:32.605-08:00<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">NEVER DID
WE EVER THINK WE WOULD</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">-Get a
bruise from a tortoise “running” into you </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFw2TLVzWXP7mHBL4jKzAOfHwSwZ5HiajQ3JTXv9Ya3F4E1xoig3kOfNZdAkBHVSStMjUab8w6KiQpzZ2PSlfmQXACJXs-zCr0lsywxdqGQ-kYiAJMkTI7O43jb1LzMVMgrlg5VDAGwVo/s1600/IMG-20181123-WA0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFw2TLVzWXP7mHBL4jKzAOfHwSwZ5HiajQ3JTXv9Ya3F4E1xoig3kOfNZdAkBHVSStMjUab8w6KiQpzZ2PSlfmQXACJXs-zCr0lsywxdqGQ-kYiAJMkTI7O43jb1LzMVMgrlg5VDAGwVo/s200/IMG-20181123-WA0003.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Anna chatting with Armando</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">-Apply nail
polish on a terrapin </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZMwBB-LVDLJllqHP7MvRj3Xqu_WBWe404ZzKkwRp7_pAsou0i13aRxNIIQ4yT8Fvrekd6CbZ5m20eaUte7SanWlM-ML313AYBzuIvCKG9PuWwGTpZs4JxzVc-fqCWCAH3WlSQCtZF_g/s1600/IMG-20181123-WA0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZMwBB-LVDLJllqHP7MvRj3Xqu_WBWe404ZzKkwRp7_pAsou0i13aRxNIIQ4yT8Fvrekd6CbZ5m20eaUte7SanWlM-ML313AYBzuIvCKG9PuWwGTpZs4JxzVc-fqCWCAH3WlSQCtZF_g/s200/IMG-20181123-WA0001.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Terrapin spa!</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><br style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 0px;" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">-Hover in
the bushes like a military, to count turtle eggs </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 245.5px; margin-right: 245.5px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJuqcfPkqqK_6VdMyj7JGxNAvzbT8XGGLy7mcBxQrPF-7KGeQGAxS7kAyQUrtD2MBgq1wdOYOFiZYYDzn-AWvhK291-N8HHzbbyyg4CKV-2UCzVmnrwO0j4oL-Fqz-zHmIu-bgqW2ldg/s1600/IMG-20181123-WA0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJuqcfPkqqK_6VdMyj7JGxNAvzbT8XGGLy7mcBxQrPF-7KGeQGAxS7kAyQUrtD2MBgq1wdOYOFiZYYDzn-AWvhK291-N8HHzbbyyg4CKV-2UCzVmnrwO0j4oL-Fqz-zHmIu-bgqW2ldg/s200/IMG-20181123-WA0002.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">observing a nesting turtle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Let’s start
from the beginning. We are Astrid and Anna, from Sweden and Germany. As we
wanted to work with turtles, we were placed at the Conservation Centre at
Banyan Tree resort. The staff here monitors the terrapin population in the
wetlands around the resort, track turtles and takes care of six giant
tortoises.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Right on
our first day we fell in love with the gentle giants here at the conservation centre.
Four of the tortoises were donated by their previous owners as they were not
able to take good care of them while the other two had to be bought after some
generous donations in the effort to rescue them. Daily duties are feeding them,
cleaning the pond, and take away poo to the composter. We always imagined
reptiles as independent animals, but these tortoises love to get a scratch. They
are trying to get your attention so you pet them. But beware to never stand
between a tortoise and her food- she can cause lovely bruises by “running” into
you. Still we can’t stop gazing at these amazing animals.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">The next
day we went on terrapin tracking. We were lucky that there were two terrapins
in our first trap. We have noticed it is not so common to find them in the
traps. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What we usually do when finding a
terrapin, is taking them to the centre to measure and weight them. We use the
data to keep track on their health of the population, if they change ponds, and
to understand terrapins behaviour better. Oh, and by the way, the nail polish
is to mark them. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">The first
week went by, many things happened and we learned a lot. We did bird-surveys, beach-patrols
to look for turtle tracks and nests, and we were cleaning coral tanks. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Then Friday
came along (our favourite day so far). We were doing turtle-patrols on five
different beaches. Quick summary of how we do that: Walk along the beach. Look
for tracks. If we find one, we measure it to find out how big and what kind of
sea turtle it was. Hawksbill and green turtles are nesting at the beaches here.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqS4e3ACWOGUKV9ydMwQGBEDrsotK7CZk0Fjn_VROjLxeShURC5a4MZGyKCwy51ceWBYVwXlQxD2KtYu2_hxeIfpvOmU72qyH_9U05_ESV6hxv8zIViEdYUfrOcEDodu0dkUl688lSIhc/s1600/IMG-20181114-WA0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqS4e3ACWOGUKV9ydMwQGBEDrsotK7CZk0Fjn_VROjLxeShURC5a4MZGyKCwy51ceWBYVwXlQxD2KtYu2_hxeIfpvOmU72qyH_9U05_ESV6hxv8zIViEdYUfrOcEDodu0dkUl688lSIhc/s320/IMG-20181114-WA0008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
with their first turtle track</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"> Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered, and the green turtles are
endangered. So, it is important that their nests are in good places, and that
tourists and dogs for example don’t scare them away. When we got back to the
office after the beach-patrols we got a call from someone that saw a turtle on
the beach. In order to measure her and count the eggs, we hovered in the bushes
behind her. That was one of our best nature experiences ever, as we never
thought we would be so close to a turtle in such an intimate situation. When
she was finished, we took ID-photos of her which we compare to previous taken
pictures at the office. We think doing this is very exciting, in contrast to
previous volunteers apparently. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(Vanessa
knows how much we love it.) That’s how we keep track of the turtles. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0_NZtcagaJoBcrP_fqeeumZfJR-GSMcBZFDB9HXjSWzEf0l7irRrz9W71SafY0yf4RPfAksjJ-DupsLEWzmbn3Vi2iFGPuEZqXKpMNXe8hO9XL0EmhVF3PkRamPwLNIMsXWU5vtkHIc/s1600/IMG-20181123-WA0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0_NZtcagaJoBcrP_fqeeumZfJR-GSMcBZFDB9HXjSWzEf0l7irRrz9W71SafY0yf4RPfAksjJ-DupsLEWzmbn3Vi2iFGPuEZqXKpMNXe8hO9XL0EmhVF3PkRamPwLNIMsXWU5vtkHIc/s320/IMG-20181123-WA0004.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">I3S fanatics!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Now we are
at the end of our second week. We are staying here one month. We already know
that we’re going to miss the turtles, tortoises, terrapins and the lovely
colleges. So, we are just trying to take in every moment and enjoy our stay
here as much as possible. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lP_jCokKtCmkaf_mAhQAJJRSq8sNv-LgLA-8h9vefb7larimNMyOy7yR_RwD8aHI6g-iJotKcpBww0G-IXwo3zCHtBL-xHhUX91wwzfTWc9H09tKx9y6h8FvTCcvaTDi3HlWJ0VdhQM/s1600/IMG-20181116-WA0005.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lP_jCokKtCmkaf_mAhQAJJRSq8sNv-LgLA-8h9vefb7larimNMyOy7yR_RwD8aHI6g-iJotKcpBww0G-IXwo3zCHtBL-xHhUX91wwzfTWc9H09tKx9y6h8FvTCcvaTDi3HlWJ0VdhQM/s320/IMG-20181116-WA0005.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">selfies while waiting on a nesting turtle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;">Astrid and
Anna, volunteers November 2018.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-88662248826604476542018-10-16T01:12:00.000-07:002018-10-16T01:12:25.092-07:00Plastic Debris and 'Microplastics' Monitoring<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_xR1Pu9lBDHcImCA8CDbPt03dbHYlaR085br-V9fiL9hNtT6ubORYft8CrgrpP-RA9H4gntOr_JB-Sutfd-v6um8fZKNc9vzSKPewLveIJ6nh6cfK6f23iPz6mM7iY75d0SYG2UGFX0/s1600/IMG-1363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_xR1Pu9lBDHcImCA8CDbPt03dbHYlaR085br-V9fiL9hNtT6ubORYft8CrgrpP-RA9H4gntOr_JB-Sutfd-v6um8fZKNc9vzSKPewLveIJ6nh6cfK6f23iPz6mM7iY75d0SYG2UGFX0/s320/IMG-1363.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While doing monitoring and assessment activities in the
Grand Police area, we noticed something in the beach sand that we haven’t
noticed at any of the other beaches around Mahé: many small pieces of broken up
plastic. Though there is no as yet global standardised size, these plastic
fragments are referred to based on their size, generally; macroplastics if they
are larger than 25 mm, mesoplastics if they are between 5 mm and 25 mm, and
microplastics if they are smaller than 5 mm. Plastic fragments such as these
represent one of the lesser understood, yet seriously concerning, impacts that
marine debris has on the health of our oceans and us.</span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While primary microplastics enter waterways and eventually
the oceans in a micro size, secondary microplastics – such as the ones that are
washed up on Grand Police beach – are the result of larger plastic debris in
the ocean (eg. plastic bottles) breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces
due to factors such as the movement of the waves and the sun’s rays. But it
doesn’t end there. As they continue to fragment into ever smaller pieces, they
absorb organic pollutants and toxins in the seawater like a sponge, and are
then often mistaken for food and ingested by marine life. Accumulation of this
kind of marine debris in the gut of various species can cause them to die of
starvation. Little yet has been confirmed about the impacts that this may have
on the health of humans, but it is possible that the chemical contaminants in
the gut of fish species may be released from the gut wall into other tissues,
which are then consumed by humans. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsoXx3Z1nd5k6o2jg2Y8gBWPoOguszhIl8wannBIq47UHgTm6mLvAwyTWijSkVSeO1C7LwCUa7nwu1Y0JmUO6lg3YpXsou7xBpBA2KOEUn0AOBt9-xj-pB0oaEGCf6Uft2x8FBPU7_38/s1600/IMG-1671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsoXx3Z1nd5k6o2jg2Y8gBWPoOguszhIl8wannBIq47UHgTm6mLvAwyTWijSkVSeO1C7LwCUa7nwu1Y0JmUO6lg3YpXsou7xBpBA2KOEUn0AOBt9-xj-pB0oaEGCf6Uft2x8FBPU7_38/s320/IMG-1671.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is undeniable that the ultimate measure to stop this
problem from getting any worse is to stop plastic debris from entering our
oceans altogether. However, until that can be achieved, we have to monitor and
measure these plastic fragments washing up on the beach in order to try
understand the scale of the problem and how best to manage it – “what gets measured,
gets managed”. We do this by using sieves of two different mesh sizes to sift
the sand along the strand line at a certain area on the beach. We then take the
collected fragments back to our offices where we carefully measure and quantify
them. Meticulous work it is!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVTlnrlhEIX88eSpM8m6T3wwdx600ZIx3QUThMokMicY6MexCdQHhFKGW0s3qsl18KH0GgLjOH5vMLe-ZOX3qDi6-G-3XyonOLYV87gErcfRXWCya0rLlSrcgcgBILDJjeGdFvnYrRm4/s1600/IMG-1722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1345" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVTlnrlhEIX88eSpM8m6T3wwdx600ZIx3QUThMokMicY6MexCdQHhFKGW0s3qsl18KH0GgLjOH5vMLe-ZOX3qDi6-G-3XyonOLYV87gErcfRXWCya0rLlSrcgcgBILDJjeGdFvnYrRm4/s400/IMG-1722.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-71262319766596236382018-10-12T01:09:00.000-07:002018-10-12T01:09:11.483-07:00Green turtle action day!Following from the last blog update...we are still waiting for the first Hawksbill turtle encounter..... meanwhile, we have some Green turtle actions going on!<br />
We recorded another green turtle track but it didn't appear that she laid. We moved on to another beach and I was alerted by Harm that he had found something....ad indeed it was a great find! There was a Green turtle nest hatching, so we got our gloves out and started helping the little hatchlings to go down the beach. We set them off in front of the vegetation to prevent them from getting caught up in the tall grass and beach morning glory plant and they could then make their way easily to sea.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gqoq_1aWhxrhwEpdspv4NVQBJaAxqoN2GDPQmv8lCP7vqRtCAOvO1rbA38oqe7fUhwoczgemQ-zShK1Yu4Qkvf_TI7SB8IWLH_NzDDqRuxBoHX26NwKzZky22MmKv4yxipqvPkuPvqBW/s1600/20181012_094057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gqoq_1aWhxrhwEpdspv4NVQBJaAxqoN2GDPQmv8lCP7vqRtCAOvO1rbA38oqe7fUhwoczgemQ-zShK1Yu4Qkvf_TI7SB8IWLH_NzDDqRuxBoHX26NwKzZky22MmKv4yxipqvPkuPvqBW/s320/20181012_094057.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harm and Kitty observing the hatchlings</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJx_baXzjCRO-1sJTTADiiiSY0MIEHFrQuwI13XKfszsbhst4bEe3U8PctHZTjtdYKanPthjxULLD_M7LSEysV8CCHqkXismDuAu-cdw4IFUu7E_LvG4hMt5HchZArYUXcAFl_YYtXJ_vB/s1600/20181012_094222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJx_baXzjCRO-1sJTTADiiiSY0MIEHFrQuwI13XKfszsbhst4bEe3U8PctHZTjtdYKanPthjxULLD_M7LSEysV8CCHqkXismDuAu-cdw4IFUu7E_LvG4hMt5HchZArYUXcAFl_YYtXJ_vB/s320/20181012_094222.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">out they come!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qS6_jcbeW3VyZOcW7k20GF_aqsDO0Up5_uU8Iz-J3n7RjuaMThCNMP34YDSi5ooktEmb0ZeV-UOlg1lFxDnLL6IXB8JfqG98ltNLDpZqAWEbq4W7hVT7WYSZmR-yEETr3Q-_bGG4jm1j/s1600/20181012_100134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qS6_jcbeW3VyZOcW7k20GF_aqsDO0Up5_uU8Iz-J3n7RjuaMThCNMP34YDSi5ooktEmb0ZeV-UOlg1lFxDnLL6IXB8JfqG98ltNLDpZqAWEbq4W7hVT7WYSZmR-yEETr3Q-_bGG4jm1j/s320/20181012_100134.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
We then collected the egg clutch survival data....and it was a stinky nest as there were a few rotten eggs and unfortunately some dead hatchlings in the nest.<br />
Nonetheless, the patrol has been an interesting one and there were smiling faces all around!Vanessa Didonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10119963235289650499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-38750853411446222082018-10-10T03:46:00.000-07:002018-10-10T03:46:01.655-07:00Awaiting the first hawksbill turtle encounter!<i>As we patiently wait for our first turtle encounter....here is a new blog from my main patrol partner for most of the 2018-2019 nesting season...…..</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Hello as this is my first blog I thought it
would be good to introduce myself first, I</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; margin: 0px;">’</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">m Harm a 22 yr old
student from The Netherlands. For my bachelor</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; margin: 0px;">’</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">s in environmental
science I decided to do my Internship with MCSS for the Temporal Protected Areas project dealing mostly with sea turtle conservation, which is my main interest and that</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; margin: 0px;">’</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">s where my stay and
these blogs will focus on.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJWMceMDdxpu9BuaNM7hskr0LTRz-iRq75oaAi0riwJfI5sT6AyOGrJftU-OlLI8R4_oLiICwVeK825FwT-pa8IAbzXAbGeOi-BLrP77yLPvhLlgttGYPA_FTJcnCO4IZ3yJZqOTb4faF/s1600/20180917_090556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJWMceMDdxpu9BuaNM7hskr0LTRz-iRq75oaAi0riwJfI5sT6AyOGrJftU-OlLI8R4_oLiICwVeK825FwT-pa8IAbzXAbGeOi-BLrP77yLPvhLlgttGYPA_FTJcnCO4IZ3yJZqOTb4faF/s320/20180917_090556.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">measuring a green turtle track (Harm(left) and Jorge)</span></div>
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</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I arrived a little over a month ago and
am still waiting for my first, so elusive, turtle sighting. When I found my
first tracks on the beach I was filled with satisfaction, the same happened
with my first nest yet a turtle has not been within my grasps just yet.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 180px; margin-right: 180px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxr9-VoY5u2z8G-R_9OiCL5NAc-BYv9bacSmcXCoNIEOYw2aWWB9izACABIecVYq0yt1mzKpOTIdBj2NDvwVADYemOOisQkuvGUEKLVSnZv7bvQ4muh3hrjDb15Nnom8dJyZ1SpLyPNi1i/s1600/20181010_140612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1406" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxr9-VoY5u2z8G-R_9OiCL5NAc-BYv9bacSmcXCoNIEOYw2aWWB9izACABIecVYq0yt1mzKpOTIdBj2NDvwVADYemOOisQkuvGUEKLVSnZv7bvQ4muh3hrjDb15Nnom8dJyZ1SpLyPNi1i/s320/20181010_140612.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">recording data on the Trimble</td></tr>
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</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Every
other workday we scout the beaches in what we call Beach Monitoring, We monitor
the following beaches extensively: Grand Police, Petite Police, Intendance,
Bazarca, Corail and Chachee. Most of these are well known turtle hotspots and
need regular monitoring to search for any possible new nest or tracks.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRBSpxZBYxHWIqhnHmoAhCOfrXQeADVTagaGhLQgqmmHKxI2omQCd5ClPJfAWSFOVnhHshKOTPJZCsw2sQGiwGQ-JvuJhMFEJI_0b7v-3WD1dlCbjN6l43qFLXgf64KSwnTrhFDgxraYT/s1600/20180927_113420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRBSpxZBYxHWIqhnHmoAhCOfrXQeADVTagaGhLQgqmmHKxI2omQCd5ClPJfAWSFOVnhHshKOTPJZCsw2sQGiwGQ-JvuJhMFEJI_0b7v-3WD1dlCbjN6l43qFLXgf64KSwnTrhFDgxraYT/s320/20180927_113420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Anse Capucin beach</td></tr>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Seychelles host the nesting of two
different types of sea turtles; The Green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, and the
Hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata. The Green turtle nests throughout the
year but the Hawksbill only in nesting season, lucky for me my internship is
right at the beginning of the season. Finding the first signs of Hawksbill
turtles proved harder than expected, as it took almost two weeks longer than
speculated. However, with the first sight of the tracks of the hawksbill
followed the first nests. Some of these dating back already a 20 days ago and
with the hatching starting approximately 65 days after nesting, its only a few more weeks
away before I can hopefully </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">see the wonders of nature as the hatchlings find their way to
the water.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 16px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXTvzHyinRG4oVEw1C78M8IBoiPufjYUjV5Jcsn1zaYRlYqaejSln58MeB5KVNv7waDff76LggS4AW3eG-f2AsOltMS5tfCxxtEtCRPWcVjZAxsrFjvsjNAX0Dd7zEYNHvYAQ1z34TcEd/s1600/20180921_100013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXTvzHyinRG4oVEw1C78M8IBoiPufjYUjV5Jcsn1zaYRlYqaejSln58MeB5KVNv7waDff76LggS4AW3eG-f2AsOltMS5tfCxxtEtCRPWcVjZAxsrFjvsjNAX0Dd7zEYNHvYAQ1z34TcEd/s320/20180921_100013.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">the patrol team</span></div>
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</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Till then, have a nice day and keep saving
the planet one step at a time,</span></span></div>
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 180px; margin-right: 180px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></td></tr>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Harm v.Z.</span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>Vanessa Didonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10119963235289650499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-75010148333807335922018-09-17T04:01:00.000-07:002018-09-17T04:08:33.444-07:00Nesting turtles & enthusiastic volunteers!<br />
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It's been pretty quiet with the turtles in the south and patrols have mostly consisted of collection of rubbish on the main nesting beaches and a few Green turtle tracks here and there, but everyone is now patiently waiting for the appearance of the first Hawksbill turtle to officially announce the nesting season open... we look forward for the first tracks or even better...the first encounter! We have quite a few enthusiastic volunteers and interns around... Kitty shares her axperiences so far....</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitty(left) & Jenny</td></tr>
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My name is Kitty Daniels and I’m taking a year out between
college and university to learn more about Marine Conservation. I arrived at
the Banyan Tree Wildlife Conservation and Rehabilitation Centre at the start of
this week to join Vanessa’s turtle monitoring project. I started off with a
‘Turtle Season Briefing’ which outlined what to do when I find a turtle nest,
and how to collect the relevant data for the project. As it is only the
beginning of the nesting season, we have not spotted <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>many signs of turtle nesting, but today we found
green sea turtle tracks on Anse Grand Police, which is exiting because Green
Turtles are not common in this part of the Seychelles. I have also helped with
Beach Profiling, which is a monthly survey to monitor the sand movement on the
beach in relation to the nesting platform for the turtles. So far this has just
involved desk-based data entry, but I’m looking forward to getting stuck in on
the beach! I have also taken part in the Banyan Tree Hotel’s ‘Management
Cocktails’, which didn’t involve any cocktails for me, but I was able to speak
to the guests about the upcoming nesting season, and to promote the centre and
offer tours of the facilities. I’m very much looking forward to the next three
months<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will spend here and for turtle
season to really get underway!</div>
<br />MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-46589065985924466322018-07-18T02:49:00.002-07:002018-07-18T02:49:55.192-07:00Alexandra shares her experiences with different MCSS projects<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My name is Alexandra McCallum, I’m a 21 year old student from Canada and for the past four weeks I’ve been volunteering with MCSS to acquire a feel for the field of conservation biology. I spent my first two weeks in the North on the Coral Reef Restoration project at Fisherman’s Cove and then moved South to work on the Banyan Tree Terrapin project. Since having been at the Banyan Tree, I have been able to see many of the tasks at hand and got a feel for the work that is done here. I arrived in the South on a Monday afternoon, where I got to meet everyone working on the project and was shown around the facilities a bit. I then officially started on the Tuesday and already had a bunch to do on my first day, which I was very excited about! I went out with the team to check for terrapins in the traps located at different pond sites, as well as add bait to the traps. This is done in the morning and in the afternoon (at 9am and at 2:30pm). However, we did not find any terrapins that morning. Following the trapping, we joined Vanessa who was removing Water Hyacinths, an invasive plant species that take up vital living space for the terrapins.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFRbUMA0XZclGm0n6TAla-rknFmo4rRA1Y56XRvGpiuSSs210vHmIXDdz82ZIApj5h87p8MbJVsNqRdVGHfmo-fDtUoYAPgh2RsN3cM7tvJxYp-e05On0D0eh4McdUbzjfLnIuzRjn38/s1600/20180703_102831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFRbUMA0XZclGm0n6TAla-rknFmo4rRA1Y56XRvGpiuSSs210vHmIXDdz82ZIApj5h87p8MbJVsNqRdVGHfmo-fDtUoYAPgh2RsN3cM7tvJxYp-e05On0D0eh4McdUbzjfLnIuzRjn38/s320/20180703_102831.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">pulling out the water hyacinths</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This took us the rest of the morning as there were a lot to remove! After lunch, I went to go check out the Giant Tortoises, which are held in an enclosure behind the offices. They were extremely gentle and loved to be pet. One even tried to climb out of the water onto the rock I was sitting on just to get a bit of affection! At 2:30,we went out again to check the traps and found a terrapin!</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fUBLEp6tzmqaJ1tUMQBQLKdn17pAEebUxE5-JFjAnfbbcNmX1tZXihL2vHwthDW9UVPWATYvIcaEzgvKl7TLYnWaIAk1FrlS5xHpRwHsTq3qdDYN1QKBbVZgugO5xfoX0dPntH18fak/s1600/received_1954494251261596.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fUBLEp6tzmqaJ1tUMQBQLKdn17pAEebUxE5-JFjAnfbbcNmX1tZXihL2vHwthDW9UVPWATYvIcaEzgvKl7TLYnWaIAk1FrlS5xHpRwHsTq3qdDYN1QKBbVZgugO5xfoX0dPntH18fak/s200/received_1954494251261596.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">cute baby terrapin!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> I was very excited to have gotten to see one on my first day as I did not expect this to be a common occurrence. Once back, I watched how Rebecca and Megan measured and tagged the terrapins and put them into the rehabilitation jacuzzis, where they stay until they are released back into their respective pond sites the next day. It was about 4pm by then so everyone started to gather their things and head home. </span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0Hl1v54NT1ijUlR9h_m9tkwdyvtSIYBJYRdRNlChmbdpjhb-sLyTWkCoTKJak4kVpYgiK5PghAeaa_5GroCk6XN7gzo7LdE8_V0tguSN-8FF-GQ2HaBT0t7fKfIygH6qYIKqr2LLxEg/s1600/received_1954494161261605.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0Hl1v54NT1ijUlR9h_m9tkwdyvtSIYBJYRdRNlChmbdpjhb-sLyTWkCoTKJak4kVpYgiK5PghAeaa_5GroCk6XN7gzo7LdE8_V0tguSN-8FF-GQ2HaBT0t7fKfIygH6qYIKqr2LLxEg/s320/received_1954494161261605.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">turtle monitoring team</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The following day, I came in expecting to do the exact same thing but in fact it was quite different. I went with Vanessa to do beach patrolling for turtle tracks and nests. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">beach patrol on Anse Grand Police</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGKeCqnuGdvWV3iXKCvqhY_Q0Bzb2yyUiEP9iFRtvEYRYVRjYDYGuD1E-gtK9Tf_Ol3Yf0xQP7bEO7jtftkDnOsLKEUzp6QSF036hWDN51QdTZ9DokWFrxIqz3bDQV6j8FjzxAzpmW2E/s1600/20180704_093520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGKeCqnuGdvWV3iXKCvqhY_Q0Bzb2yyUiEP9iFRtvEYRYVRjYDYGuD1E-gtK9Tf_Ol3Yf0xQP7bEO7jtftkDnOsLKEUzp6QSF036hWDN51QdTZ9DokWFrxIqz3bDQV6j8FjzxAzpmW2E/s200/20180704_093520.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">beach clean up!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We also brought garbage bags along to pick up trash along the beaches. We spotted green turtle tracks and a new nest that had been made the day before,it was really cool to see! One thing that really surprised me however was the amount of trash along the beach.We picked up 2 garbage bags full of flip flops, plastic bottles, glass and just waste left behind or brought in with the tide.We patrolled several beaches, including some surrounded by lush forests, and were all really beautiful. Once we got back, I shadowed Evita as she gave a tour to some of the hotel guests,so that I would also be able to give tours of the premises when needed. The next two weeks followed the same outline but remained really interesting. One day we even caught seven terrapins! Overall, this has been a great learning experience for me and I highly recommend taking part in these projects, as you are guaranteed to always find something to do!</span><br />
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MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-88334628506815069052018-06-19T02:52:00.001-07:002018-06-19T02:52:50.984-07:00Fresh Tracks...New nest!It has been very quiet for a long while and even when we were in the nesting season it wasn't that busy too sadly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4mR-EvR9n-tNazFF4y16Bh26noWkBW5KDQjVFnpjrWSCPRELHRqJQBJtGqWur_wxahotBDzWcOJXSGIeVu2tFd0oeNbnHl5ohbmX_Fgn4J5940crZM9ZCl3KGMARzOohdimxd1xT6pY/s1600/20180613_092445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4mR-EvR9n-tNazFF4y16Bh26noWkBW5KDQjVFnpjrWSCPRELHRqJQBJtGqWur_wxahotBDzWcOJXSGIeVu2tFd0oeNbnHl5ohbmX_Fgn4J5940crZM9ZCl3KGMARzOohdimxd1xT6pY/s320/20180613_092445.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nils doing the split!</td></tr>
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Nonetheless, our last patrol brought some excitement around finally, where two sets of Green turtle tracks were spotted on one of the main nesting beaches. The tracks were so fresh and we were all wishing we could have encountered the turtles. However Green turtles usually nest in the early hours or at night when it's dark, so our chances of encountering them are low.<br />
The Interns on patrol were so excited to see some tracks finally and as for me I was relieved more then excited, firstly to see that the turtles are still around and made it safely back to sea after their nesting activities and secondly I was relieved that the tracks could finally bring some proof to the interns that all my teachings and explanations about sea turtle monitoring could be put to be to the test. We had to identify the up and down tracks and detect if the turtle had successfully nested, but the big test was to be able to do a split while trying to measure the width of the track which were approximately 110cm!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qhlXAqhy6aUvu1KVtEaWebBT1YXP8O4vfVFVdphxQsnYvdy4zCRdBKmbtbIQWcRqgw9qJFPG52PJcykgew0j6H5507zuShGIhn1qBmaIsJM9XbZCjSeqKdPjuGRFJrY8rSSdufzEtz8/s1600/20180613_093640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qhlXAqhy6aUvu1KVtEaWebBT1YXP8O4vfVFVdphxQsnYvdy4zCRdBKmbtbIQWcRqgw9qJFPG52PJcykgew0j6H5507zuShGIhn1qBmaIsJM9XbZCjSeqKdPjuGRFJrY8rSSdufzEtz8/s320/20180613_093640.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping the interns busy - measuring and recording!</td></tr>
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The nesting beaches need constant monitoring even if we are not in the peak of the nesting season, lots of rubbish are being washed up onto the beach everyday and we aim to keep the beaches clean and clear, so rubbish collection is a task we undertake to reach our aim, but individuals are encouraged to help by collecting at least three pieces of rubbish when visiting the beaches and moreover never to leave any after visiting as well, especially people who like to have picnics.<br />
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Closer to the nesting season, we will carry out a more in depth cleaning and clearing of the nesting platform as well, where dry vegetation and non beneficial plants are removed. Other than that, we will be keeping a close eye on the new Green turtle nest and hope that the next couple of months treats the eggs well!<br />
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MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-39180558230257058272018-05-11T03:25:00.002-07:002018-05-11T03:25:31.320-07:00Nils' additional help with the turtle projectNils started his internship with MCSS a few weeks ago.... Not the best period to be working on the Temporal Protected Areas Project for sea turtle conservation as there isn't any around at the moment since we are out of the nesting season for hawksbill turtle, nonetheless he has been involved on quite a few task, as he shares below........<br />
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Hello everyone! My name is Nils and currently I am involved with Vanessa’s TPA-Project in<br />
the south of Mahé. As a part of my master’s programme I am volunteering with the MCSS.<br />
Because the nesting season for Hawksbill turtles is already over for this time of the year I am<br />
following different tasks than the daily monitoring of the beach. One of my main tasks for<br />
the last two weeks was the maintenance of the Photo-ID-Database that the MCSS<br />
established. I modified some features that makes the work easier to handle for the future<br />
use.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">database modification for Turtle ID</td></tr>
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Additionally, to the land-based computer work I got involved to create a whole new in-water<br />
seafloor assessment. The goal is it to characterize the main nesting beaches by their depth<br />
and substrate on the seabed. By doing line-transects along the beach at certain distance we<br />
collect our data. So far, we only carried it out on Anse Intendance to get an idea whether it<br />
works the way we planned it. For future times we would like to extend this survey to other<br />
nesting beaches.<br />
The main reason for doing this is to get an idea of how the seafloor character and the depth<br />
might influence the turtles to get out of the water at a certain point. Several publications<br />
suggest that Hawksbill turtles and Green Sea turtles prefer different habitat characteristics.<br />
Hopefully the transects will be successful and the data add up to the understanding of the<br />
nesting turtles.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">first pilot survey of the Intendance seafloor</td></tr>
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<br />MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-57465608020966342632018-03-22T00:05:00.000-07:002018-03-22T00:05:27.078-07:00Shanilla's first day on her work attachment with MCSS<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">Hello, my name is Shanilla Young-Kon<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>, </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">I’m 18 years old. I live at Anse Forbans. I’m a student at
Seychelles Maritime Academy studying Fisheries Science. I have an infinite
passion and love for the oceans. I was currently placed at the Marine
Conservation Society Seychelles(MCSS)- Wildlife Conservation and Rehabilitation
Centre- Banyan tree for my work base experience for the next 3 months. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Finding hatchlings on the first day!<br /></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Unfortunately on my first day the turtle nesting season was already over and I
didn’t get to see any turtles but luckily while patrolling and monitoring some
nests on the nesting beaches patrolled by MCSS, we manage to see some
hatchlings One particular nest had over 200 of them crawling anxiously to the
sea, we ensured they all made it safely into the sea, it was so amazing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I can’t wait for
the upcoming adventure ahead of me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUbKq9NIdImIVCHu_3KJEaj2p0RoXf0rjNETEjGUWvtWt0Jy-F8ickKRpknDKJ4QXpwqjCs9PudB6ggEKar5dRcRyXtVDvijTuiRqzUAoZOc9NqbdrPEFuyv7Fbyews2PcC-HlyzNoPY/s1600/20180319_095749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUbKq9NIdImIVCHu_3KJEaj2p0RoXf0rjNETEjGUWvtWt0Jy-F8ickKRpknDKJ4QXpwqjCs9PudB6ggEKar5dRcRyXtVDvijTuiRqzUAoZOc9NqbdrPEFuyv7Fbyews2PcC-HlyzNoPY/s320/20180319_095749.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hatchlings erupting!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPYOos2Z6TN3ogt5iTCIcKBhzI4guCtmZQA5RFNbjDz2Snwv3VA-Pk3hGHKRRxgUhT4-Es8TF1EZWpcuRRagxnDwgKajTQj-K4J1hO8sXtmF-_dQj4LirkFcA4I5j6_FccfGwD73La5E/s1600/20180319_100125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPYOos2Z6TN3ogt5iTCIcKBhzI4guCtmZQA5RFNbjDz2Snwv3VA-Pk3hGHKRRxgUhT4-Es8TF1EZWpcuRRagxnDwgKajTQj-K4J1hO8sXtmF-_dQj4LirkFcA4I5j6_FccfGwD73La5E/s320/20180319_100125.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the racers!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-40121791259263289492018-03-15T04:04:00.000-07:002018-03-15T04:04:24.909-07:00Emma's successful volunteering with the south projects!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Five and a half months in and finally I was
lucky enough to see some hawksbill turtle hatchlings. I have spent most of my
time with MCSS volunteering on the Fishermen’s Cove and Cerf island projects
which are focused on corals, during which we frequently see turtles but was yet
to see any hatchlings. And while many people think of 13 as an unlucky number
March 13<sup>th</sup> was a great day for me, with 14 little hatchlings making
an appearance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqYEuQMHCak8n2zvvZKmYbKGggrClVb_HUfCXmYtZ6qln5hGkIF5QZtwn63dyP5w8PFwfAAYbUjh_FU4xerJ6RCMQ8S6_KJFYEc9jlN1WsTTtMBT0Ma3KWLrQPmHj13C1ubYE_XxI-I4/s1600/IMG_6177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqYEuQMHCak8n2zvvZKmYbKGggrClVb_HUfCXmYtZ6qln5hGkIF5QZtwn63dyP5w8PFwfAAYbUjh_FU4xerJ6RCMQ8S6_KJFYEc9jlN1WsTTtMBT0Ma3KWLrQPmHj13C1ubYE_XxI-I4/s200/IMG_6177.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Although most of the hatchlings from a 180+
egg clutch had already made their way out to the sea, possibly during the
cooler temperature of the night, 14 hatchlings were still waiting to make their
journey. We dug them out of the nest were they were waiting, weighed and
measured 10 of them, and I attempted to keep the weighed and measured ones in a
sand pen whilst we waited for the others, but they were extremely persistent to
get to the sea.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz7A7RJVi2CZuj1Wu5vZu8iFcS-2F_rZSn5Rbtesj_HzD10oqG1h33sxEGahOQMu9qa61lvk9SfNJXaUtuIv2uN4ZY450_IfOL081yaJLOSgyiPTCausrK71aKmMvAKd8fjJqYBrg9Dp4/s1600/IMG_6162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz7A7RJVi2CZuj1Wu5vZu8iFcS-2F_rZSn5Rbtesj_HzD10oqG1h33sxEGahOQMu9qa61lvk9SfNJXaUtuIv2uN4ZY450_IfOL081yaJLOSgyiPTCausrK71aKmMvAKd8fjJqYBrg9Dp4/s320/IMG_6162.JPG" width="200" /></a> Keeping three or four in was fine but once it got to eight or
nine they were definitely winning. I was really surprised at how strong they
were and they can really wrap their fins around your hands and grip on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifa2xqis9cWEUXom5FbekZqP9AD-el_dxIhch3xhpAfLdKXsEbSrxOuru8QEwFqH70XzbfpkBfsLT2H2YE1xqvkcFf8z5aKfv6kjloRQv-DHklhPk8fzhK4bssgzB3lMBXZjeVAq84Yhc/s1600/IMG_6184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifa2xqis9cWEUXom5FbekZqP9AD-el_dxIhch3xhpAfLdKXsEbSrxOuru8QEwFqH70XzbfpkBfsLT2H2YE1xqvkcFf8z5aKfv6kjloRQv-DHklhPk8fzhK4bssgzB3lMBXZjeVAq84Yhc/s200/IMG_6184.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Once the ten had been weighed and measured
and a few guests from the hotel had arrived to watch the hatchlings, we let
them make their own way down the beach and into the surf. Some of the
hatchlings reached the sea shockingly quickly, whilst others seem to fall into
every foot print possible. All 14 hatchlings made it to the sea without any
help needed and swam off into the big ocean. Good luck little guys and I have
my fingers crossed for more hatchlings this week. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRgjvCc64vdrkCQa7se2vIpnxzmDVGd37wCYF4PPIbng8bcYagOQ4c9fts-QeteeJYcPx7IVNmb8tQO24zPn4cQEhh8vbxICDtsd8ZvAq-jUTuRDxa_mLzcYbIDD2YdtJX6tocQ-xZhI/s1600/IMG_6295+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRgjvCc64vdrkCQa7se2vIpnxzmDVGd37wCYF4PPIbng8bcYagOQ4c9fts-QeteeJYcPx7IVNmb8tQO24zPn4cQEhh8vbxICDtsd8ZvAq-jUTuRDxa_mLzcYbIDD2YdtJX6tocQ-xZhI/s320/IMG_6295+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-63760058885935659582018-01-29T22:37:00.000-08:002018-02-19T02:52:14.620-08:00Nathalie the new turtle volunteer<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5O7tQaON8-Q-SsWZVvtm9rUwNoNd8KZycQ_YnQHX5hQmemCaoThRUFba9EURO-DQHzxhgGWroJUItIxYyyHvXPOlk0nu4NanX2JGDe4J42oVoDTmCWVGcXPFfhzBfe1cgeG1IA-MjNb0/s1600/IMG_9734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5O7tQaON8-Q-SsWZVvtm9rUwNoNd8KZycQ_YnQHX5hQmemCaoThRUFba9EURO-DQHzxhgGWroJUItIxYyyHvXPOlk0nu4NanX2JGDe4J42oVoDTmCWVGcXPFfhzBfe1cgeG1IA-MjNb0/s320/IMG_9734.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">truly enjoying the experience</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">My
name is Nathalie and I've come here for a voluntary mission of 1 month. I am
really interested in conservation issues since I decided to make drastic changes
in my life, quitting my work in finance to dedicate myself in marine environmental
sciences. Coming here is providing me with a good insight of different activities
and projects that can be done within a conservation center. I am mainly taking
part in Vanessa's project with Nina, performing patrols and monitoring turtles
(populating the database, using software faces recognition...). More than
helping them directly on the field, the final aim is trying to get a better
understanding of turtles' behavior, in order to create the best Temporal
Protected Areas for a sustainable preservation. This relates with other current
studies like beach profiling, mapping, fauna, flora and sand analysis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EWof1wSfjGSU3KxkBFb6KUxy2467POyIadZV-BWZe5-Ha5y8AmsIj1pCEdKtiKhh0YFWDYsa6A_vS0V9zmgTQ3BgZZ6tD1NYB4NKZAg3BDXVzza6kvL-ZH-jpInbQB6zHiOhM24K-ec/s1600/IMG_9396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EWof1wSfjGSU3KxkBFb6KUxy2467POyIadZV-BWZe5-Ha5y8AmsIj1pCEdKtiKhh0YFWDYsa6A_vS0V9zmgTQ3BgZZ6tD1NYB4NKZAg3BDXVzza6kvL-ZH-jpInbQB6zHiOhM24K-ec/s320/IMG_9396.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">turtle encounter on the nesting beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Since
being here, I had the luck to see 5 nesting Hawksbill turtles, including two
which were laying and 2 hatchlings emerging from their nest. It's always
emotional moments and I feel really privileged to be able to assist that, especially
since the Hawksbill is a critically endangered species.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfinbspU2YFxChclEJRCygardc_mRjgmAUD72zSL9X_5e1PoI0PiSQ_k4eSUtVpwy39rzG-BLHR_9uiGb_W2o77Yrb5vuBj8hlanjpk8_BN72AQqgSobqW4wXFR6zpDf578NrdJOM4M74/s1600/IMG_9830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfinbspU2YFxChclEJRCygardc_mRjgmAUD72zSL9X_5e1PoI0PiSQ_k4eSUtVpwy39rzG-BLHR_9uiGb_W2o77Yrb5vuBj8hlanjpk8_BN72AQqgSobqW4wXFR6zpDf578NrdJOM4M74/s320/IMG_9830.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">clearing the path for the little ones</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I am
also helping to educate classes from primary schools when they come to visit
the centre. Raising children's awareness is very important as we can expect
them to feel more involved in preserving the environment in the future, be it
in Seychelles or anywhere else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Another
thing that is really enjoyable here is wildlife centre and the ability to
welcome wild animals for rehabilitation. The care is not only provided to
terrapins, sea and land turtles, but also to any animal that can be properly
nursed, like baby birds. Pets are also welcome and an X rays is accessible to
anybody who needs a diagnostic of their lovely animal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOddsuej_YWP0nOiyrodobV52MGhvkIOVJpQUbXQ9xVoQ2qQ6W51swYB6b2HCIjgp6AeTQkLhUrrnwJkHQTNkwKk29YfCj5rMX2vywI6ochoFJdldy3e-jTL42gpH2JIpiuyDx1AFih0/s1600/IMG_9970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOddsuej_YWP0nOiyrodobV52MGhvkIOVJpQUbXQ9xVoQ2qQ6W51swYB6b2HCIjgp6AeTQkLhUrrnwJkHQTNkwKk29YfCj5rMX2vywI6ochoFJdldy3e-jTL42gpH2JIpiuyDx1AFih0/s320/IMG_9970.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">checking out the terrapins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGhJp5AMeNJcQZRBGdtrriUwxWzSAqsMRhJWC8nfAY5ODiy1WgjW2vkhBVzf3YHOZUiIxRItVlEAguJvmmg01Tbv6UmqhqiSD5DgGBeWnDg4DbsykokY68lBBn3DOMfeprEhvM_ab1TA/s1600/IMG_9608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGhJp5AMeNJcQZRBGdtrriUwxWzSAqsMRhJWC8nfAY5ODiy1WgjW2vkhBVzf3YHOZUiIxRItVlEAguJvmmg01Tbv6UmqhqiSD5DgGBeWnDg4DbsykokY68lBBn3DOMfeprEhvM_ab1TA/s320/IMG_9608.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">welcoming the land tortoises for rehabilitation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">My
wishes for MCSS and Seychelles is that legislation will support all the efforts
made by NGOs and take appropriate measures to help to fight against poaching as
much as possible.<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225857294179011206.post-78003101105479227392018-01-17T00:56:00.000-08:002018-01-17T00:56:20.652-08:00Nick's adventure with MCSS has come to an end <div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Only a few days left! After 20 weeks my
adventure here is over, it has been amazing, with a lot of nice experiences and
amazing people! </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xUwuUQoPRtMcca24k9_uiIyKpj5nddAsnTm8YgxohfKLMVCOs1Pg_vMGEx7vTmGsnx0ucO980nCqps8CNOuRGv85ZXhisHdzk4t4NLr_atRDsx7Or6WWgDuDU-ITiMWRlW7qi6ffoRk/s1600/DJI_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xUwuUQoPRtMcca24k9_uiIyKpj5nddAsnTm8YgxohfKLMVCOs1Pg_vMGEx7vTmGsnx0ucO980nCqps8CNOuRGv85ZXhisHdzk4t4NLr_atRDsx7Or6WWgDuDU-ITiMWRlW7qi6ffoRk/s320/DJI_0003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Selfie with the drone!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Besides having a nice time some work had to be done as well of
course, but this never felt like actual work because it is so relaxed and nice.
Walking on the beaches looking for turtles, tracks and nests, terrapin trapping
and building a terrapin and tortoise pen, these are the activities I have done
the last 20 weeks which was lovely! I have seen a lot of turtles and
fortunately even hatchlings.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NnMQ6H_S2279Mpc09kVLvaelto2FyjQD_T9DVNrgu5To0hBqNFCAV0IF1oZ4XkzE8FbzUOlozpNP-rJoqXSYOlPwirWeFStvznFQ8E7XXILveohojQ8oOYLUbQ79jlF_zlh5d2ckS5A/s1600/tur.+10m.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NnMQ6H_S2279Mpc09kVLvaelto2FyjQD_T9DVNrgu5To0hBqNFCAV0IF1oZ4XkzE8FbzUOlozpNP-rJoqXSYOlPwirWeFStvznFQ8E7XXILveohojQ8oOYLUbQ79jlF_zlh5d2ckS5A/s320/tur.+10m.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Spotting the turtle with the drone</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHAXK-wqHJtF2fSVl8tEHhMndmn1gRp5y6iqemk-1LkydamVQCwv2MpjOfRiQfMtkql-ZybBYBqIKWcujaZeA7WxIFJx3QL_NNvHZPx5JNzTu-AW_dRheJZWgeECGZak10KbFwjAoxIY/s1600/20m.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHAXK-wqHJtF2fSVl8tEHhMndmn1gRp5y6iqemk-1LkydamVQCwv2MpjOfRiQfMtkql-ZybBYBqIKWcujaZeA7WxIFJx3QL_NNvHZPx5JNzTu-AW_dRheJZWgeECGZak10KbFwjAoxIY/s320/20m.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Spot the up and down track</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Flying the drone was also a lot of fun but not
always as easy due to weather conditions. Unfortunately I have also encountered
some poached turtles which was very sad, but it is almost inevitable when you
work in conservation. But t<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>his made me more interested in
the turtles and very excited whenever there was an up and down track instead of
only up, at least we knew the turtle made it back into the sea safely. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In a few days I fly back to the cold and wet
Netherlands and I know for sure that I will miss the nice relaxed lifestyle,
the sun and all the people here! </span></div>
<br />
<br /><o:p></o:p>MCSShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806124411172718661noreply@blogger.com0