Lindiwe Makapela

Lindiwe is a nature enthusiast with a passion for marine mammal ecology and conservation.

She says “I have an honours degree in Zoology, and aspire to become a killer whale specialist one day. I have worked closely with rehabilitated marine animals at an oceanarium and have worked as a field specialist at the Shark Research Unit. My skillset includes skull morphometry, eDNA sampling and marine mammal identification”

 

Lindiwe did her undergraduate and honours at NMU in Gqeberha. During her Honours degree she investigated “Sexual dimorphism and regional variation in the three-dimensional morphology of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin skulls”.

 

for her MSc she joins Sea Search and Stellenbosch University and will be working with data from long0line fishers and fisheries observers working in this sector to analyse killer whale depredation patterns and how these are affecting by natural (e.g. location, moon phase, fish target, species on line, time of year) and human factors (line length, bait type, other boats in the area etc) , with the goal of trying to reduce these negative interactions.