Open Waters

Asha was a bright student from the very beginning. She was good in all the subjects but what gripped her interest the most was the world of aquatic life. She had always been intrigued by them that is why she decided to do her Ph.D. in marine mammal research. Interestingly, she is the only Sri Lankan to hold Ph.D. in the same subject. Vos came back to her native state with a project. She had planned on conducting a research on blue whales. And to know more about these giant mammals she headed to her own country that itself is rich in aquatic life. It was there she set up Sri Lanka Blue Whale Project in 2008. As the research was on blue whales, she had to go on numerous sea journey to explore more about this great mammal. Everything was well planned according to her.

asha de vos - sri lanka

Unusual Animal

They happened to spend a few hours on the water when they spotted something strange moving towards their boat. It was a weird creature, something she had never seen before in her entire career. Whatever the case was, one thing for sure the creature looked very aggressive. Whereas everyone there was all stunned, Asha quickly sprinted inside.

asha de vos - sri lanka

Capturing It

She rushed out with a camera in her hand. She knew this creature was anything but ordinary. Asha started clicking pictures of the creature. She snapped as many photographs as she can. She tried to capture it from every possible angle. At the same time, she took out her diary and noted down all the significant details and her observations of the giant creature.

Omura’s Whale

The creature Asha and her team had crossed path with was a rare Omura’s whale. This type of whale had never been spotted by anyone before. So, it makes this encounter between the Omura’s whale and the human to be the first documented one.

New Species

It is not that this species has come into existence recently. It has a history of thousands of years. However, it has been classified as its own species some years ago only. The species got its own identity in 2003 in Japan after DNA testing and modern science confirmed its distinction from other whales.

sri lanka - omuras whale