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Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
A dolphin called Arnie with a shell

Dolphins catch fish using giant shell tools

In Shark Bay, Australia, two groups of dolphins have figured out how to use tools...
Common dolphins at surface

Did you know that dolphins have unique personalities?

We all have personalities, and between the work Christmas party and your family get-together, perhaps...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Holly. Image: Miray Campbell

Meet Holly, she’s an incredible orca leader

Let me tell you the story of an awe-inspiring orca with a fascinating family story...
Humpback whale. Image: Christopher Swann

A story about whales and humans

As well as working for WDC, I write books for young people. Stories; about the...
Risso's dolphin at surface

My lucky number – 13 years studying amazing Risso’s dolphins

Everything we learn about the Risso's dolphins off the coast of Scotland amazes us and...

The Life of Riley, A WDC Shorewatch dog

Find out about WDC Shorewatch through the eyes of Riley the springer spaniel and his owner Steve Truluck.

A dog that writes blogs? Pull the other one! OK so actually I’ve trained my human to type what he’s told; he’ll do anything for one of my cuddles. I’ve been asked to write a series of blogs to tell you all about my whale and dolphin adventures in Scotland.

My human first met me when I was very little and luckily for me he lives right next to the sea. I’ve always loved the sea. I can go swimming and I find lots of sticks and balls on the beach. Occasionally, if I’m really lucky, there are dead seagulls which I love rolling on but my human isn’t very happy when I do that. What does make him happy is seeing dolphins. He gets so happy he starts shouting and squealing. It’s so embarrassing. Luckily for him most humans get like that when they see dolphins. He met a group of local people who are also passionate about whales and dolphins and now we all go watching and they do the squealing together while I pretend I’m not with them. It’s called Shorewatch and it’s run by wildlife charity, WDC – Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

Shorewatch relies on volunteers like me and my human to look out for whales and dolphins from specific sites and then record their sightings. The information can then be used to check for long-term trends when whales and dolphins are present at the site. With this information the kind humans at WDC help protect these amazing creatures of the sea. The best bit is that anyone can do it and it only takes 10 minutes which means loads of time for the humans to play with me. There are Shorewatch sites all around Scotland where volunteers watch from and contribute to helping protect the marine environment. I’m proud to be a Shorewatcher.

So, please follow my blogs and I’ll tell you all about the cool marine mammals you can see, like orcas, humpbacks, minkes and dolphins. Plus I’ll tell you about the nice humans I meet shorewatching and explain to you how Shorewatch works.

I hope you’ll like reading about my adventures and me enjoying the life of Riley.