Studying the Desert Dolphins: Namibian Dolphin Project Internship
by
Nico Heyning, University of Puget Sound

Halfway around the world, the Namibian Dolphin Project (NDP) studies whales, dolphins and sea turtles in the South Atlantic, out of Walvis Bay, Namibia. Leaving Mira Costa High School three weeks before prom and graduation, Nico Heyning boarded a plane for a six-week internship studying the biology and conservation of bottlenose and Heaviside dolphins with the NDP. He is the youngest intern to join to NDP team. Nico will introduce us to the research team and will detail techniques used in Wal...vis Bay. He will also introduce us to other African wildlife and share many of his wonderful photos, as well as the story of how he landed this internship.

Nico is a rising sophomore at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. He grew up in the South Bay, spending every free minute on and near the ocean. He is currently working at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. He received a special dispensation to be able to join the Cabrillo Whalewatch program while still in high school and thus become the youngest volunteer docent in the program. If the name Heyning sounds familiar, it is probably because Nico’s father, John Heyning, a well-known marine mammal researcher, was a longtime ACS scientific advisor and Whalewatch instructor, and his mother Corinne served on the ACS-LA Board.


RAFFLE: We will have a fun and exciting raffle at the end of the presentation. Tickets will be for sale at the meeting and all who attend the dinner will receive a free ticket.

The talk is free and open to the public, held at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro.

Meet the speaker for a relaxed, no-host dinner at Puesta del Sol (1622 S. Gaffey, San Pedro). Dinner is from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Receive a free raffle ticket by attending the dinner.

ACS-LA Monthly Speaker Series is held at 7:30 p.m., the last Tuesday of the month, from September through November and January through May each year in the John M Olguin Auditorium at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro, CA.

Upcoming event:

- July 29: Summertime Blues whale watching trip

(Photo © Nico Heyning)