Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MEET ULSTER’S DR DOLITTLE
Ulster student travelling world to work with animals
A PHD student has described how volunteering with an animal research organisation has led him to working with great white sharks.
Justin Judge is studying marine community ecology at Queen’s University Belfast and is also a Marine Protected Areas Officer for Birdwatch.
He is currently involved in a crossborder project developing protected areas for marine life in the Irish sea.
Working with a variety of different animals ranging from owls and bats to seals and dolphins, Justin has travelled to remote parts of Iceland to the southern tip of South Africa where he had the opportunity to study great white shark predatory techniques.
He spends most of his time on a laptop analysing data and writing reports but says the field work opportunities make all of this worthwhile.
Justin added: “Working in this field has presented me with some incredible and life-affirming opportunities and I am thankful every day for them.
“I feel very lucky to be able to do these things as part of my work.
“That’s not to say it is all working outdoors counting seals. The majority of time is spent inside on the laptop analysing data and writing reports.
“Though when the field work opportunities arise it definitely makes all the background admin stuff worth it.
“My first early-career internship, when I was fresh out of university after my Bachelor’s degree, allowed me to spend several months working with a research organisation in South Africa.
“My role was to assist in gathering information on great white shark behaviour, namely predation techniques on cape fur seals.
“As a recent graduate, getting to work with some big names in shark conservation was a dream come true. It was also the first time I had been abroad for work so it was definitely a growing experience and I learned a lot about myself.
“The experience itself was incredible and solidified my realisation that this was what I wanted to do with my life.”
Justin has also had the opportunity to work with some huge marine animals closer to home.
He said: “We have a number of large marine species around the Northern Ireland coast which are predominately seasonal.
“For instance in summer you have the best chance to see minke whales, humpback whales, common and bottle dolphins as well as basking sharks.
“Through my marine consulting role I occasionally record one or more of these, though even with a dedicated and constant watch on the water you are not guaranteed to see them due to their tendency to only reveal a small area of themselves and for a short period of time. Occasionally you might get a great display and I’ve seen some great photos of minke whales breaching clear out of the water out by Rathlin Island.”
Justin has spent most of his time working with wildlife conservation here and highlighted there are hundreds of species of national importance considered rare or in decline.
He added: “There is quite a number of species in Northern Ireland that are at particular risk and this extends beyond just mammals.
“A total of 481 species are considered rare, in decline or of national importance and that is a staggering number.”