queen of mantas Archives | TRAVELS WITH TAM

Earth Day Gives us a Chance to Make a Difference

April 21, 2021 By Tam Warner 1 Comment

Earth Day Gives us a Chance to Make a Difference, so let’s do it! There are many worthy causes, as we all know.

jane goodall, marine megafauna, earth day, sheldrick wildlife trust, queen of mantas — My daughter and I with Lam duan, a blind elephant at Elephant World in Thailand.

You don’t need me to tell you that our planet is in desperate shape. Mother Nature displays her distress through higher temperatures, snow and rainfall patterns shifting and causing havoc. More extreme climate events – like hurricanes and records high or low temperatures – are already happening. Our oceans are overfished, loaded with plastic waste, and overheating. We must all take action. Below you will find several non-profits making a difference, and I urge you to donate on this Earth Day 2021.

IF YOU ARE SEEING THIS ARTICLE ON ANY SITE OTHER THAN WWW.TRAVELSWITHTAM.COM IT IS AN INFRINGEMENT OF MY COPYRIGHT. PLEASE REPORT TO [email protected].

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Another Fantastic Solo Trip with Ray of Hope Expeditions!

April 30, 2018 By Tam Warner 9 Comments

manta ray research, manta rays, — Dr Andrea Marshall and I on one of her Ray of Hope Expeditions to the Revillagigedos to do research on the plastic consumption of mantas.

Another fantastic Solo Trip with Ray of Hope Expeditions and Dr Andrea Marshall, Queen of Mantas!

I love to travel solo, but traveling solo doesn’t have to mean traveling alone! When I travel solo I never feel “lonely” because there are so many new people to watch, to meet, and to talk to. My volunteer/citizen science adventures have introduced me to people who share my passion. As a result, I have friends all over the world! I was the oldest volunteer on my All Out Africa volunteer trip to Mozambique in 2012, but I remain in touch with, and have seen, my fellow volunteers because we bonded during our shared experience. I have friends I met on other trips who are older than I am. Meeting and working with people who share your passions is exhilarating no matter what your age, nationality, or religion. Doing citizen science with Ray of Hope Expeditions makes me feel good about myself, knowing I am trying to make a difference.

I am always careful when I travel, whether solo or not! It’s important to take good care of yourself financially as well! This guide will give you some good tips on how to travel safely with your finances!

Earlier this month I was off on another adventure with Andrea, this time to the Revillagigedos Archipelago. Where on earth is that, you may ask. It is very remote and takes at least a day to get there from Los Cabos. One is completely unplugged as there are no signals. This location is very special. It is 540 miles off the Baja peninsula, and is often called Mexico’s Galapagos. These uninhabited rocks, so far from the Mexican mainland, are among the most unbelievable dive spots in the world. It has one of the largest populations of sharks, manta rays, and includes groups of tuna, humpback whales, all kinds of cool fish, and turtles. This is the third time I have visited these islands, and though I have taken identification photos in this location for scientists, this is the first time I was on an actual scientific expedition.

Revillagigedos, Revillagigedos Archipelago, diving in Socorro, scuba dive San Benedicto, Roca Partida — Map By Hobe / Holger Behr – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2688383

Strangely enough, I became sea sick on the crossing, which is very unusual for me. I always take a couple of Dramamine and never have a problem. This time was quite different! I have to say, I have a lot of sympathy now for people who get seasick! What a horrible feeling. I spent the first 20 hours of the trip in bed, sleeping and eating saltines.

Once at the dive sites the water was calmer, and my sickness went away (until the next time we traveled which was every day or night!). Diving with mantas is always a magical experience no matter where you are, but the giant mantas at these islands are different. They want to interact with divers, and they want to feel the bubbles from our regulators on their bellies! There are plenty of sharks, dolphins, fish and even tuna in these waters. I was excited to get under the waves and take photos!

ray of hope expeditions — Here I am, photographing a Giant Manta at San Benedicto Island, photo by Andrea Marshall.

And this is the identification photo I took on that dive! The spot pattern is the Identification, they are like fingerprints with no two alike.

Here I am photographing another Manta Ray. See how the spot pattern is different from the one above?

Here is Andrea and you can see her spear? Taking tissue samples from the mantas was important on this trip to measure how much plastic was in their system.

And this was just the beginning of the trip! Stay tuned for more fish, shark, dolphin and manta action!

You would also enjoy:

http://tamtravels.wpengine.com/how-to-perform-citizen-science-with-manta-rays/

4 of the most Amazing Reasons I go on Citizen Science Trips

May 19, 2017 By Tam Warner 7 Comments

cabo pulmo, red travel, tam warner minton — Researching Whale Sharks in Mexico

I participate in Citizen Science trips because I am a big believer in giving back. When we receive a benefit, I believe we should provide a benefit in return somewhere, somehow. Scuba Diving is a passion for me, animals are a passion, and photography underwater is a passion. I love the ocean, the earth, and all of its creatures. The point is, I must give back to the ocean in some way since I enjoy the ocean in so many different ways. How do I give back? I go on Citizen Science trips, which means I participate in collecting data for scientists to use, and in doing so, I also help support their work. I’ve done trips with All Out Africa, Marine Megafauna Foundation, and REEF. Why do I do it? Here are 4 of my reasons.

I love to dive, so almost all of the citizen science I do is underwater. The ocean is in trouble, and so are many of its animals. As the ocean warms, coral bleaches and dies off, killing the foundation of life for many fish and animals the earth depends upon for sustenance. In order to know how a species is doing, data must be collected. That data involves Identification photography, noting the animal’s sex, noting any injuries, and watching the behavior of the animal. I love contributing to the body of knowledge about our ocean friends.
I am fascinated by animals. There is nothing more exciting to me than watching them, and when appropriate, interacting with them. Most of the time, you don’t want to interact or disturb their behavior, but every once in a while you get to look them in the eye, or blow bubbles with mantas or play with dolphins, and it is nothing short of magical!
I’m a geek. I love collecting data and loading it into data systems to produce results. Every time I submit an ID photo of an animal, I can’t wait to find out if it is a “new” animal (one never documented before), or if it has been encountered before, and where. When you report and encounter and upload data to Wildbook for Whalesharks (www.whaleshark.org) or Manta Matcher (www.mantamatcher.org) you receive updates if that animal is seen again. Almost every summer I go off the Yucatan to snorkel with WhaleSharks, and I always take ID photographs to upload. I receive many notifications every summer and fall that animals I have encountered have been encountered again. I like to look at the photos, and I feel a certain sense of accomplishment.
Probably the most important reason I go on these trips is, simply, the people. I have met the most wonderful, amazing people on citizen science trips. You are always hearing people talk about their “tribe”, well, this is my tribe. Sadly for me, I can’t do it as a profession, all year long. I’m an introvert, but I am a social introvert, I can hang out with people and enjoy myself. I loved teaching at the university and counseling high school students. No man is an island! What is exciting for me is to be able to spend time with people who share the same interests and passions. These trips draw intelligent, excited, animated people who share my love of the sea and my sense of contribution. I can interact with the scientists and learn about the animals and the ocean itself. I love the people (for the most part!) I meet on these trips, and I am still in touch with many of them. We share a bond through the experience of passion and participation.
An incredible group of wonderful, bright, enthusiastic women!

You will love this…somehow the two of us found out we share an ancestor who was hung as a witch in Salem!

With Bakari and Anton, crew members extraordinaire!

The last trip I took with Marine Megafauna’s Dr Andrea Marshall, Queen of Mantas, was an 11 day voyage in Raja Ampat, Indonesia on the luxury boutique liveaboard, The Arenui (not all trips are so luxurious, believe me!). It was a wonderful trip, and I enjoyed getting to know the other divers, who mostly were not there for the same reason I was, but who became very enthusiastic about taking Manta ID photographs. I believe no matter where they are diving, they will take ID photos of animals and send them to the databases for turtles, whales, dolphins, mola mola, and others. Inspiring others to take part in citizen science is also a contribution, and a way of giving back. You can do it too!

arenui, citizen science, manta ray, scuba, marine megafauna — My roomie, Andrea Queen of Mantas, and her one year old baby girl. (the baby was only on the boat 2 nights)

nui, citizen science, manta ray, scuba, marine megafauna — Jonny was my dive master, and an excellent one. Also a musician and singer!

One doesn’t have to dive to do citizen science!No matter where you are, there are opportunities to participate. There is National Geographic’s list, and there are projects closer to home. I live in Dallas, Texas and here is a program to document wildlife in urban areas in North Texas Wild. You can also go to www.citizensciencecenter.com. Citizen scientists are a boon to scientists because so much more data can be obtained. If you are interested, you can find an opportunity near you! I highly recommend it!

Citizen Science with Marine Megafauna Foundation

August 2, 2015 By Tam Warner 15 Comments

We did two days of diving with Rodrigo Friscione, of Solo Buceo in Cancun. I’m on the far left.

The Marine Megafauna Foundation Ray of Hope Expedition 2015 included a marine biologist (USA), a geneticist (Japan, living and working in the US), a biologist from the Maldives (a Scot by birth), a scuba instructor from the Maldives (a Kiwi, otherwise know as a New Zealander), a Penn biology major (from Mexico), a videographer (South Africa), and those of us, scuba divers and/or photographers, who care deeply about our watery world, both Canadian and US. Our mission was to photograph animals (Whale Sharks and Manta Rays) for Identification, upload to Whaleshark.org and MantaMatcher.org, and to take genetic samples from the Manta Rays of the Yucatan. We were not entirely successful with the Mantas…the elusive creatures, well, they eluded us! We did manage to get 7 or so, but we fell far short of the desired 30 samples.

Scientists and Citizen Scientists at Whale Shark Festival, Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Whale Sharks, on the other hand, were in abundance. The Yucatan is one of the world’s largest aggregations of whale sharks, if not the largest. We headed out in the mornings for a 90 minute boat ride to the shark area, typically just before sunrise, and seeing the dawn out on the calm Caribbean Sea was a serenely beautiful experience. Once out to the shark area (wherever the whale sharks are gathering and feeding that particular day) it became disheartening to see all the tourist boats. There must have been 50 boats on some days.

Please do not get me wrong. We are trying to conserve and preserve these animals by showing how valuable they are to tourism, and valuable they certainly are. Tourists are out in droves to see and to swim with them. 40 or 50 boats at a time can seem pretty excessive, though. The first day we hung out on the edges, swimming with the sharks who were on the periphery of the tourists. We were on a scientific vessel and had a permit to be in the water with them for study. The first day was very shark rich, and I was able to get several ID shots, as were other members of the group. The best day was ahead, however.

15 tom whalesharks feeding on surface — Whale Sharks feeding on the surface

On the third day of the expedition we headed out looking for mantas, and skipped the whale sharks until around noon. By that time, the boats were gone. We had 30 or so whale sharks to ourselves, and one other boat. It had to have been one of the best animal encounters I have ever had. Without the hoarde of boats, one could be patient, waiting for feeding whale sharks to swim by. We didn’t have to chase them, or even swim that hard to stay up with them (they may look as though they are moving slow, but they are really going much faster than you think) because they were lazily filtering the surface of the water, knowing they were pretty much alone and in no hurry. With several boats, it gets confusing, and the sharks often have to change course to avoid snorkelers, but on this day, they were content and feeding happily on tuna spawn. Every time we got out of the water we had to brush off tuna eggs from our wetsuits and hair.

15 1 looking down — Looking down, into the Big Blue.

I took this photo of the vertical, pregnant whale shark and our Kiwi!

I have not been happy with the whale shot photographs I have taken over the years. On this glorious day, alone with whale sharks, I took the best photographs I have ever taken of these spotted, gentle giants. Just incredible! I’m going to save many of those photos for Fabulous Photo Friday this week! My dream has always been to watch a whale shark vertically feeding in the water, and to capture photographs of it. My dream came true with a huge, pregnant Whale Shark who had to be 40 feet long. She was immense, and it was amazing to watch her, vertical and still, while she filtered tuna spawn. Ah, she was such a beauty! And lucky for me, Dr Andrea Marshall (the Director of Marine Megafauna Foundation and Ray of Hope) was in the water and captured an incredible, once in a lifetime photo of me with the whale shark. Yes, I will be framing it! I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to have a photo of this quality! Thank you, Andrea!

Andrea took this awesome photo of me with the Whale Shark!

15 1 whale shark one ID shot LEFT2 — Whale Shark ID shot: these spot patterns are unique to each individual.

I took several ID photos and uploaded them to www.whaleshark.org. It was exciting to receive a few matches, telling me that I had photographed a shark who had been photographed several times over the past 5 years. It’s also exciting NOT to receive matches, meaning I uploaded photos of sharks who were new to the system. I am thrilled to be able to assist conservation science by being a Citizen Scientist.

“In today’s world, it’s clear that our natural environment cannot be preserved and protected by the few people officially designated with this task. It will take all of us, in all parts of the world. We all need to find ways to help in this monumental task.

Citizen Science offers each of us a path to find special ways in which we can each help protect our part of the world. It’s an elegant, efficient, and engaging solution to the huge environmental problems we face in the 21st century.” www.citizenscientists.com

I cannot begin to express the wonder and the thrill of being next to these ocean pelagics. It is truly awe-inspiring…and I am so grateful I can help in their conservation. Check out http://www.citizenscientists.com/ and check out how many ways there are to help!

Puerto Lopez and Isla de la Plata!

September 5, 2014 By Tam Warner

The trip to Puerto Lopez was about 4 hours from Guayaquil, in a van filled with luggage and people. Kind of bumpy too, but we made it, so no problema! The hotel is nice and clean, with balconies overlooking the ocean. There are also hammocks on the balconies, which is quite nice. Upon arrival our group, which consists of Ralph, Larry, Peg and Tina, took a bit of a rest then headed out to meet with the dive masters and the scientific team (Marine Megafauna Foundation) to have dinner and get to know one another. Actually the group I am with has been here for the last four years and is well known to the teams. I guess I’m the newbie! Everyone is friendly and helpful, which is very useful because I knew my first few dives would be difficult. In a new place, they always are. I’m not sure why that is, but it just is. I have learned to prepare for it.

Our first dive day was slow, filling out paperwork, signing legal documents, making sure gear was correct, that sort of thing. The beach is filled with fishing boats, both on and off the water, surrounded by Emperor Pelicans and Brown Pelicans, Frigate birds, and yes, Blue footed Boobys! They are totally adorable…and so clumsy! Talk about big flat feet! They are cute, cute, cute!

Not so cute are the numerous fishing boats….as always, there is friction between the divers and the fishermen. Ecuador wants to make the most of being a country eco-friendly with national parks where no fishing is allowed….but the fishermen fish the national park daily, as we have seen. A lot of politics going on down here. There are only 3 dive companies as of yet, and change is slow when it comes to a clash between trying to change an economy based on fishing to one based on tourism, diving, and national parks. It is difficult to explain to them, but the fishermen don’t realize that a marine protected park is a valuable commodity….the fishing just outside of MPAs is excellent. It will take time.

This manta was extremely friendly and checked me out for quite a while. Ahhh!!! Look at the eye!!!!!!!!

Isla de la Plata, the Island of Silver. A hiding place of Sir Francis Drake's. — Isla de la Plata, the Island of Silver. A hiding place of Sir Francis Drake’s.

The ride from Puerto Lopez to Isla de la Plata (where the mantas congregate this time of year) is an hour or more. Dive conditions were favorable yesterday, and so we suited up. The cold water hit my chest like a sledgehammer. I felt like I could not breathe. I’m not used to diving in more than a 1 mil wetsuit (or skin), and here I am layering a 3 mil topped with a 1 mil. After I acclimated we went down the line for the dive, and it was pretty murky….but out of the murk came huge manta rays! Absolutely amazing. These animals are really huge. My second dive was much better, and the mantas were everywhere. Beside you, below you, above you….where to look?? I took a few shots of them, and also some photos of eels and seastars. I slept on the way back…in the last few weeks I’ve had Dengue Fever and a kidney stone, so I’m not as strong as I am normally. Of course, I blew out an ear on the second dive….I’m calling it “manta ear”. See manta, get closer to manta, forget everything else including clearing your ears while looking at mantas. One of the scientists was a guy I had met in Mozambique, and he suggested vinegar. Perfect choice. I had no ear problems today. Good old vinegar, my gargling standby for sore throats (mixed with honey). It works on ears too.

This is an identification shot of a male manta flying overhead.

Another ID shot. Each Manta has a different belly marking.

Ah, today. The swells were much bigger, the boat ride harder, the diving was freezing at 15 degrees Celsius (that is 59 Farenheit.) This time I bumped my head on the boat, lost my mask from my face, and basically felt like an idiot. But there were plenty of mantas! Dr Andrea Marshall, or the Queen of Mantas as she is known all over the world, was on the boat today. Like me, she feels like heavy wetsuits are strangling her…and like me, doesn’t wear a hood since it constricts the throat. We must have been strangled together in a former life. She and her husband are absolutely wonderful. He brought me cushions to make sure my back felt okay on the ride out and back. What a sweetheart!

I’m taking the day off tomorrow….this is not the relaxing diving of Cozumel or the Caymans….this is hard work in comparison. Seeing huge mantas is worth the effort, though, and hopefully the water will warm up a bit. Today was apparently the coldest day yet! Brrrrr!

Getting to Guayaquil (Ecuador)!

September 2, 2014 By Tam Warner 7 Comments

In the past few weeks I have had serious doubts as to whether I was going to be able to make this trip! I planned to come to Ecuador over a year ago with a scientific team and volunteers from Marine Megafauna Foundation, to help identify and conserve Manta Rays at Isla de la Plata, the Island of Silver. Also known as “the poor man’s Galapagos”. I tried to go to Komodo last January with the group, the Ray of Hope Expeditions, but last September my husband went into a shocking respiratory failure and ended up with a double lung transplant. I know, I still can’t believe it myself, but here we are, a year later, and Randy is doing very, very well! Well enough for me to travel. So why did I think I might not get here?

Well. I went to Cozumel, Mexico in August and came home with Dengue Fever. My advice? Stay away from mosquitos who carry the virus. It is well nicknamed, “breakbone fever”. And yes, one feels like one’s bones are BREAKING. So painful. I ended up missing my daughter’s engagement gathering. I can’t even stand to think about that.

Then, off to Florida to help out with relatives who are having issues. I came home, ready to prepare for my fabulous trip….and ended up in the Emergency Room on August 28 with a kidney stone! Luckily it was not my appendix. THAT would have really sucked. So, I’ve been feeling a bit weak and worried about another stone. However, I feel fine, and I decided to just get on the damned plane. So I did. And here I am. Looking around on the plane I couldn’t help but notice I was a rare commodity…a woman traveling alone. I rode to the hotel with a group of men from Argentina, all of them staring at me. I’ve traveled alone all over the world….and have yet to find other women traveling alone! Does anyone else get out and go on their own??

I haven’t even seen Guayaquil ( the largest city in Ecuador and a World Heritage Site ) yet as I arrived in the dark, at night. So, tomorrow I see the city and drive 4 hours to Puerto Lopez to prepare for diving over the next two weeks. Can’t wait! I will be posting as I go!

Buenos Noches, mi amigas!