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A fever of rays… or a fever dream?

Still floating after this incredible encounter with a fever of ocellated eagle rays (Aetobatus ocellatus) during a drift snorkel with the @the.finstitute here in Mo’orea over the weekend!

Three videos, and somehow none of them quite captures just how magical it was watching these majestic, graceful animals glide effortlessly through the channel. I should also note, they are IUCN-classified as Endangered… let that sink in.

Such an unforgettable experience for everyone!

And yes, while we spend most of our time studying sharks with @physioshark - we have a pretty big soft spot for the flat ones, too! 🦈💙

#FINnstitute #Moorea #EagleRays #MarineLife #Physioshark

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Savethereefs #2

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Here is what happiness looks like… 🫶🏻💚🩵💙🦈🤙🏼

Yesterday I shared this lagoon from above the water, but this is the part I love most… what is happening beneath the surface.

A beautiful female blacktip reef shark who looks like she may be pregnant, with her almost perfect mirror image reflected on the surface above her - probably my favourite moment the whole morning. Maybe we will see her pups in the nurseries one evening soon. Then a curious male who I followed for a while and even caught displaying some chafing behaviour. And finally, me, exactly where I am happiest - in the tropical, turquoise lagoon.

I’ve snorkelled this spot more times than I can count over more than a decade, and I still can’t get enough of it. The clear water, the sunlight dancing across the white sand, and these beautiful sharks cruising through the lagoon.

These colours… this place.. it will never get old.

#BlacktipReefShark #Moorea #FrenchPolynesia #Physioshark #SharkScience

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Une journée biologie marine avec @the_luciole et @kaualuu à Mo’orea 🫶 pour la fondation @science4reefs et le projet de @clr_btl

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Baby shark season is back in Mo’orea! 🦈🌴

Since 2013, we’ve been studying blacktip reef shark and sicklefin lemon shark neonates across 10 nursery sites around the island, with the season running from September through to the end of February.

This was a particularly busy evening - and one of those special nights where we were lucky enough to catch babies of both species. This reel takes you behind the scenes to see the procedures, measurements, and data we collect before getting each shark straight back in the water.

Meet Beth @beth.by.the.sea and Ally, @allykilnapp our new @physioshark interns, who will be leading the nursery program this season. You’ll be seeing plenty more of them over the next few months!

All procedures are approved by the JCU Animal Ethics Committee (AEC 26A-0094) and DIREN French Polynesia. Every shark is released back at its exact capture site within minutes of completing our measurements.

Big thanks to Alexia Arents @alexia.ats for creating this video, and to our 2024 intern Dorine Delord, @dorine.delord who still somehow finds time to come back and join us in the field.

Welcome, Beth and Ally - let baby shark season begin! 🦈

#Physioshark #SharkScience #Moorea #FrenchPolynesia #SharkResearch

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