Kathlyn Tan

Ft. the Galápagos marine iguana — The 18 degree water at Cape Douglas today was worth it! These baby godzillas weren’t shy in the slightest. Here, you can see them feeding on algae that grow on the volcanic rocks around the Galápagos shores🦎💙

27 Dec - Big stuff. @annamalodge_and_dive

🐬🐬The waters of Wetar are so beautiful, with a huge variety of whales and dolphins! In this instance, we’d spotted a big pod of what we thought were pilot whales feeding not far from our location, and so we clamoured into an inflatable boat to see if we could get a little closer. The closer we got, the stronger the smell of fish in the air! (their meal was a shoal), and their whistles were so loud we could hear them from the surface!! We could see them jumping and slapping and spinning in the air (?? yes, that’s right ;)). Lo and behold, there turned out to be not one, but MULTIPLE species of ceteceans hunting together - spinner dolphins, melon-heads, fraser’s dolphins… Interspecies teamwork happens frequently, and whales and dolphins actually pal around a lot.💗💗 What an amazing sight and one can’t help but think about just how interconnected earthlings are, and our potential to thrive together 🪸🌎🌊🌳 Original footage by our co-traveller brothers. @duniabaruyacht

A friendly sea lion just brimming with personality, frolicking at Port Douglas🦭

More views of baby Godzilla

Meet some new friends I made over the holidays 🥹

The largest school of common blue striped snapper we’ve ever seen — absolutely magnificent! A guest saw the video and said it looked like a carpet of yellow 💛💙 Exploring Hoarafushi with @annamalodge_maldives.

Happy New Year, friends 🥰 Here are some scenes from Hoarafushi, a local island at the northern most tip of the Maldives — one of my absolute favourite places.✨✨ Not a dive boat in sight, just you, your friends and the reef🪸 Here’s to a peaceful new year, filled with all the things you love most x Guided by @annamalodge_maldives🏝️

Coasting the surge with a Galápagos green turtle at Cape Douglas. Christmas edition ;-) Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is a little more marine protection… so that all these incredible creatures have a future 🎅🏻🐢! This was just off the west coast of Isabela Island, where there were marine iguanas foraging nearby. This turtle and I encountered each other in the surge, and I kept as still as possible to prevent startling it while we were being cradled back and forth. Known in Spanish as Tortuga prieta, they’re the only turtle species to breed and nest in the Galápagos. Did you know — the green turtle is the only herbivore among the different sea turtle species? (Although, juveniles will eat almost anything.) Unfortunately, these lovely, gentle creatures have been hunted for their shells and meat, continue to be victims of bycatch, and face increased predation by invasive species during their time as wee hatchlings. This has resulted in them being listed as Endangered. Thankfully, the trade of Galápagos green turtle parts are now banned and they’re protected from fishing by the Galápagos National Park. Wishing a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate✨🎄

One for the books, this was my first time seeing a silky shark💙 Often found in the waters around Darwin and Wolf islands (along with other tropical and subtropical waters around the world), silky sharks are one of the most commonly sold species in the international shark fin trade. Threatened by bycatch in industrial fisheries such as those targeting other species like tuna, silky sharks are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. While Marine Protected Areas play a crucial role in protecting nearshore ecosystems, the highly migratory nature of pelagic species means they travel across the waters of different countries, often outside these protected areas. This is why integrating effective marine protection with sustainable fisheries management is crucial to saving requiem sharks and other pelagic species.

The time a friendly sea lion came to play! I could hardly contain my squeals😹 It circled… and circled(!) for several minutes, doing flips and twists, and swimming right up next to me. In the second video, it mimicked P’s bubbles and played some more, all while marine iguanas swam around us 🐉

Just fascinated by these marine iguanas💚 When they’re not diving for marine plants, they’re often found basking in the sun, sometimes group huddling to keep warm. If you look at pic 3, you can see them piled on top of each other for marine iguana cuddles!