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Finally, A Camera Caught Sight Of This Underwater Secret.
With the ocean covering most of our Earth’s surface, the underwater world still remains a mystery to us. Scientists and researchers are working hard to protect the planet and to learn more about the world. But when expert marine biologist Asha de Vos was out in the open sea during a normal day at work in Sri Lanka, the team spotted something a bit fishy in the water.
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0:00
With the ocean covering most of our
0:01
Earth's surface, the underwater world
0:03
still remains a mystery to us.
0:05
Scientists and researchers are working
0:07
hard to protect the planet and to learn
0:08
more about the world. But when expert
0:10
marine biologist Asha Dvas was out in
0:12
the open sea during a normal day at work
0:14
in Sri Lanka, the team spotted something
0:16
a bit fishy in the water. At first, they
0:18
couldn't figure out what they had
0:19
encountered, but once they returned to
0:21
land, they wouldn't believe what they
0:23
would unravel back at the office. Let's
0:25
dive in and discover the underwater
0:26
secret of Sri Lanka. Asha Dvas wasn't
0:29
just a regular graduate of marine
0:31
biology. She had successfully received a
0:33
PhD degree in the field. And if that
0:35
isn't impressive enough for you, she is
0:37
actually the first and as of right now
0:39
the only Sri Lankan to earn a PhD in
0:41
this field. It's clear that she finds a
0:43
deep connection to her country and for
0:45
many years she has chosen to focus her
0:47
research on exploring and conservation
0:49
of the northern Indian Ocean, more
0:51
specifically in Sri Lanka. But before we
0:54
start, smash the like button, subscribe,
0:56
and ring the notifications bell so you
0:58
never miss our upcoming stories. She was
1:01
on a role in the industry, receiving all
1:03
sorts of recognition and awards for her
1:05
marine research. The key to any type of
1:07
research is passion, especially marine
1:09
law. And the aquatic world of her home
1:11
country was still quite a mystery when
1:12
she had returned home to start her
1:14
research. And so began her mission to
1:16
unravel all the secrets of the sea. She
1:18
packed up her passion and knowledge and
1:19
set out to sea with her team.
1:21
Considering she was the first and only
1:23
one in her country to have a doctorate
1:24
degree in this field, it was clear that
1:26
Asha Devas had pure passion for what she
1:28
did. But there was something even more
1:30
significant about her choice to work in
1:32
the waters of her homeland. From 1,983
1:35
to 2009, the waters surrounding Sri
1:38
Lanka were inaccessible. On top of that,
1:40
the water was quite dangerous to take a
1:42
risk and discover because there were sea
1:44
mines dispersed and hidden throughout
1:45
the area. This didn't stop Dvas and her
1:47
team, though. After over two decades,
1:49
they finally had a chance to explore the
1:51
waters and they were excited. Asha Devas
1:54
wasn't new to the game. However, she was
1:56
fully aware that the North Indian Ocean
1:58
was an area that was rarely explored.
2:00
The surrounding countries don't have the
2:02
financial status needed to fund aquatic
2:04
expeditions, so the amount of knowledge
2:06
known about the water is quite limited.
2:07
This made Dvas's adventure that much
2:09
more exciting, though. Come February
2:11
2017, it was just another day in the
2:14
office at sea for Dvos and her team.
2:16
That is until they spotted something
2:17
that looked a bit fishy. Dot. Dvas's
2:19
focus was in marine mammal racer. And
2:21
within that focus, she specialized in
2:23
blue water whales. Due to Sri Lanka's
2:26
busy shipping lines, the aquatic life
2:28
has been compromised, especially for
2:30
whales. This area became a key area to
2:32
focus on conserving and protecting, and
2:34
Dvas had been working at it for years.
2:36
Her ambition to protect and study the
2:38
whales were slowly starting to be
2:39
recognized worldwide, and she was always
2:41
excited to jump in and explore the
2:43
waters. Did you know that Sri Lanka is a
2:45
top country for whale watching? There
2:47
are three species of blue whales that
2:49
are found in the area and marine
2:51
biologist Devos made it her mission to
2:53
learn about these magnificent creatures.
2:54
One of her roles was to document and
2:56
catalog the species of whales that the
2:58
team discovers. It was just another day
3:00
in the office when her and her team were
3:01
observing the marine life. As great as
3:03
tourism can be for a country, the
3:05
aquatic life has also taken a toll due
3:07
to the sea trap. As healthy as the
3:09
ecosystem is in the coastal areas of the
3:11
island, some of the aquatic creatures
3:12
have been driven away. Because of this
3:14
though, Asha Devos and her team utilized
3:16
a special way to document and observe
3:18
the whale. A big part of the technique
3:20
is to always be on high alert to taking
3:22
a snapshot, especially since whales
3:24
typically don't approach the boat,
3:25
especially so close to the coast. Being
3:27
camera ready is crucial. As large as
3:30
whales can be, they can also be quite
3:32
sensitive because they like their
3:33
privacy and to swim in the deep ocean
3:35
waters. Asha Devos and her team tend to
3:37
travel past the coastal shore into the
3:39
open waters to observe and photograph
3:41
the blue whale. However, they were about
3:43
4.3 mi, 7km from the shore when they
3:46
started to see something approached
3:47
them. And as we mentioned before, it
3:49
wasn't normal for a whale to get close
3:50
to the boat. They could tell it was a
3:52
creature, but it wasn't like anything
3:54
they had ever seen before. As their
3:55
vessel was at a standstill, the team had
3:57
to think quick. Dvas and her team
3:59
quickly grabbed their cameras and
4:00
started shooting documentary pictures
4:02
before it swam away. The closer the
4:04
creature got to the vessel, the bigger
4:06
it looked. At this point, it seemed
4:08
about as big as a school bus. And the
4:10
creature wasn't just approaching the
4:11
boat, it was circling and swimming
4:13
around them. Can you imagine the rush
4:15
the team was feeling? With a mixture of
4:17
fear and excitement, how came the
4:19
cameras and notebooks to document what
4:20
they were witnessing. As we mentioned,
4:22
the area was rarely studied and minimal
4:24
information about it was gathered before
4:26
Devos came along. The great thing about
4:28
their documentation technique is that
4:30
its main focus is to categorize and
4:31
catalog different species. In an
4:33
interview with Tedfellows, Dvas shared
4:35
that she got very lucky while she was
4:37
taking pictures. This marine animal was
4:39
very relaxed, so I was able to take
4:41
plenty of photos of its characteristic
4:43
features. An enormous animal they had
4:45
never seen before had just approached
4:46
and circled their vessel and remained
4:48
relaxed and calm while they were taking
4:50
pictures of him. Was it a shark, a
4:52
whale, a dolphin? With shock, awe, and
4:54
excitement, her and her students got
4:56
straight to work when they got back to
4:58
land. They whipped out their journals in
4:59
their catalog of photographs. That's
5:01
when we began to realize that what we'd
5:03
seen was quite different to anything we
5:05
had ever seen before, stated Devasta Ted
5:08
Fellows. In order for you to understand
5:09
how big a deal it was for Devos to call
5:11
in for backup, let's give you a little
5:13
bit of background on her experience. We
5:15
know that she graduated with a doctorate
5:17
in marine mammal research and focused
5:19
her studies on the blue whale. But what
5:21
did she do after? Well, in 2008, she
5:24
established and headed the Sri Lankan
5:25
Blue Whale Project, a project focused on
5:28
long-term research on blue whales in the
5:29
northern Indian Ocean. But this was just
5:31
the start to her incredible rewarding
5:33
career. Thanks to Asha Devas's
5:35
incredible dedication and research, Sri
5:37
Lanka's blue whales were named by the
5:39
International Whaling Commission as
5:41
animals in urgent need of conservation
5:43
research. 5 years after starting the Sri
5:45
Lankan Blue Whale Project, she received
5:47
the President's Award for scientific
5:49
publications in 2013. And in 2016, she
5:52
was inducted into Oceanana, an
5:54
international organization to protect
5:56
the world's oceans as senior adviser and
5:58
a renowned marine biologist. I'm
6:00
thrilled to join this organization which
6:02
has the proven experience and ability to
6:04
help protect marine wildlife, including
6:06
the blue whales I have studied for so
6:08
long, stated Devos to Oceanana. So like
6:11
we said, Dvos was a pro when it came to
6:13
aquatic life in Sri Lanka and she was
6:15
recognized globally for it. So calling
6:17
for backup definitely meant they might
6:18
have found something extravagant. When
6:20
whales approach our boats, we see so
6:22
little of them, particularly because
6:24
most keep a low profile unlike the more
6:26
showy humpbacks. So it's often difficult
6:28
to register their characteristic
6:30
features at a glance. Dvas mentioned
6:31
during a questionnaire with Oceanana.
6:33
Although Dvas was able to get some
6:35
photographs, she was having trouble
6:37
identifying the mammal. She and her team
6:38
of students were able to distinguish
6:40
five characteristics from the photos of
6:42
this unidentified mammal. There were
6:44
five different characteristics or
6:46
morphologically diagnostic features in
6:48
technical terms that helped identify
6:50
exactly what species of aquatic animal
6:52
this was. It was mostly related to the
6:54
asymmetrical jawline, pigmentation, and
6:57
some other unique marks. Based on its
6:59
unusual markings like the asymmetrical
7:01
coloring, its right side lower jaw is
7:03
light while on the left it's dark and
7:05
its chevron marking. Dvas shared with
7:07
TED fellows she had a feeling she knew
7:09
what the species was. Upon further
7:11
research and photo identification, the
7:13
team thought that maybe they were in the
7:15
presence of a bride's whale. This large
7:17
species of whale lives in warmer waters
7:20
just like the Indian Ocean. Devos told
7:22
National Geographic, "She started to
7:24
think it was a different mammal. The
7:25
lighter lower right jaw and chevron were
7:27
key characteristics that made me
7:29
question what I had seen because bride's
7:30
whales are essentially uniformly black
7:33
moment and felt like they were that much
7:34
closer to identifying the magnificent
7:36
creature that approached them on the 5th
7:38
of February 2017. She immediately
7:41
transferred a few of the images to two
7:42
of her colleagues Dr. Robert Brownell
7:44
and Dr. Salvatore Sergio who were
7:47
familiar with this species and by this
7:49
species we mean the species of animal
7:50
that Devos believed this creature to be.
7:53
Asha Dvas became the first to record
7:55
amora's whales in Sri Lankan waters
7:57
finalizing the official record in 2017.
7:59
The species discovered in 2003 is
8:02
extremely rare with sightings only in a
8:04
few parts of the Indian Ocean. Her
8:06
discovery gained global recognition. She
8:08
presented her research at National
8:10
Geographics Explorers Festival was named
8:12
an emerging explorer in 2016 and
8:14
received the women of discovery sea
8:16
award in 2018. DVAS is now a TED senior
8:19
fellow, DU global fellow for marine
8:21
conservation and a young global leader
8:23
at the World Economic Forum. While
8:25
research in Madagascar shows Omor's
8:27
whales filter tiny plankton and fish
8:28
eggs, little is known about their
8:30
behavior. Dvas's confirmation came with
8:32
help from Dr. Salvatore Sergio, a
8:35
leading expert on the species. Asha Dvas
8:37
and fellow researcher Dr. Salvatore
8:40
Cerio share a passion for protecting the
8:42
ocean, echoing Jacustoau's belief that
8:44
people protect what they love. Dvas
8:46
emphasizes that knowledge fosters care.
8:48
Taking pride in her discovery of Omura's
8:50
whales in Sri Lankan waters as a symbol
8:53
of her country's rich biodiversity. She
8:55
highlights how little of the ocean less
8:57
than 5% has been explored despite it
8:59
covering 70% of Earth. Returning home
9:02
after studying marine biology abroad,
9:04
Dvos chose to dedicate her expertise to
9:06
Sri Lanka's vibrant land and marine
9:08
ecosystems, a decision that led to a
9:10
historic contribution to science and
9:12
conservation.
#Wildlife
#Biological Sciences
#Earth Sciences