Ingrid Visser (researcher)
Encyclopedia
Ingrid Natasha Visser is a marine biologist known for studying orcas.
Between June 1986-November 1986 Visser sailed with her parents and sister aboard a 17.3 m (57 ft) yacht, around the world. The trip covered over 50000 nautical miles (92,600 km) and visited more than 40 countries.
), Masters of Science (Auckland University) and Doctorate of Philosophy (Auckland University). Visser has been working with orca (Orcinus orca) (also known as killer whales) since 1992 and completed her PhD in 2000, on the first ever scientific study of orca in New Zealand waters.
In 2002 Visser’s research was instrumental in the New Zealand Government’s reclassification of New Zealand orca from “Common” in the New Zealand Threat Classification System to “Nationally Critical”. This is the equivalent status of “Critically Endangered” in the internationally recognised IUCN Red Data listing.
and New Zealand Geographic
.
Visser has set up the Orca Research Trust, the Antarctic Killer Whale Identification Catalogue and was a co-founder of the Punta Norte Orca Research non-profit organisations all focusing on orca research. She also set up Adopt an Orca to facilitate fund raising and public awareness.
Visser has written an autobiography (“Swimming with Orca” – a finalist in the Environmental category of the prestigious New Zealand Montana Book Awards) and two children’s books (“I love killer whales” & “The Orca”). The latter has been translated into Māori
and is currently in press as a bilingual English/Spanish publication.
Visser works as a guide on a variety of eco-tourism adventures, from swimming with whales to visiting Antarctica. She is a public speaker and has been described as “a marine version of Jane Goodall
,” where her passion for the protection of orcas and their fragile habitats, as well as rescuing many stranded whales are clearly illustrated in her photographs and talks.
’s “Untamed & Uncut: Killer Whales Attack a Seal” and the award winning PBS’s Jean-Michel Cousteau
’s “Call of the Killer Whale” (2005).
Early life
Both her parents were Dutch immigrants who came to New Zealand in the 1950s. They were both nationalized as New Zealanders after she was born. Her mother is deceased and her father resides in New Zealand. She has one younger sister (Monique) also born in New Zealand, currently residing in Auckland, New Zealand.Between June 1986-November 1986 Visser sailed with her parents and sister aboard a 17.3 m (57 ft) yacht, around the world. The trip covered over 50000 nautical miles (92,600 km) and visited more than 40 countries.
Education
Visser holds three University Degrees; Bachelor of Science (Massey UniversityMassey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
), Masters of Science (Auckland University) and Doctorate of Philosophy (Auckland University). Visser has been working with orca (Orcinus orca) (also known as killer whales) since 1992 and completed her PhD in 2000, on the first ever scientific study of orca in New Zealand waters.
Scientific work
Her research on orca has been published in international scientific journals, since 1998, and many of these publications are available on the website Orca research. (see below for a list of scientific publications).In 2002 Visser’s research was instrumental in the New Zealand Government’s reclassification of New Zealand orca from “Common” in the New Zealand Threat Classification System to “Nationally Critical”. This is the equivalent status of “Critically Endangered” in the internationally recognised IUCN Red Data listing.
Publications
She has published numerous popular-style articles and her photographs have appeared in various magazines such as National Geographic, BBC WildlifeBBC Wildlife
BBC Wildlife is a British glossy, all-colour, monthly magazine about wildlife, founded by BBC Worldwide and published through the BBC Magazines Bristol division, also trading as Bristol Magazines Ltd....
and New Zealand Geographic
New Zealand Geographic
New Zealand Geographic is a magazine published in Auckland, New Zealand. It is in the format popularised by National Geographic but focusing on the biodiversity, geography and culture of New Zealand; New Zealand's interests abroad, and that of the adjoining region: Antarctica and nearby Pacific...
.
Visser has set up the Orca Research Trust, the Antarctic Killer Whale Identification Catalogue and was a co-founder of the Punta Norte Orca Research non-profit organisations all focusing on orca research. She also set up Adopt an Orca to facilitate fund raising and public awareness.
Visser has written an autobiography (“Swimming with Orca” – a finalist in the Environmental category of the prestigious New Zealand Montana Book Awards) and two children’s books (“I love killer whales” & “The Orca”). The latter has been translated into Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
and is currently in press as a bilingual English/Spanish publication.
Visser works as a guide on a variety of eco-tourism adventures, from swimming with whales to visiting Antarctica. She is a public speaker and has been described as “a marine version of Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
,” where her passion for the protection of orcas and their fragile habitats, as well as rescuing many stranded whales are clearly illustrated in her photographs and talks.
Other work
She is a member of the Australia & New Zealand branch of The Explorers Club and continues to travel the world in search of orca. She has published the first ever manuscript on Papua New Guinea orca and returns regularly to Walindi Plantation Resort to conduct field research there.Documentaries
Visser has appeared in documentaries featuring her research with orca, such as Discovery Channel’s “Killers I have Known” (1998), Animal PlanetAnimal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
’s “Untamed & Uncut: Killer Whales Attack a Seal” and the award winning PBS’s Jean-Michel Cousteau
Jean-Michel Cousteau
Jean-Michel Cousteau is a French explorer, environmentalist, educator, and film producer. The first son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, he is the father of Fabien Cousteau and Celine Cousteau.-Biography:...
’s “Call of the Killer Whale” (2005).
Scientific publications
- Visser, I. N. (1998) Prolific body scars and collapsing dorsal fins on killer whales in New Zealand waters. Aquatic Mammals 24(2): 71-81.
- Visser, I. N. (1999) Benthic foraging on stingrays by killer whales (Orcinus orca) in New Zealand waters. Marine Mammal Science 15(1): 220-227.
- Visser, I. N. (1999) Antarctic orca in New Zealand waters? New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 33(3): 515-520.
- Visser, I. N. (1999) A summary of interactions between orca (Orcinus orca) and other cetaceans in New Zealand waters. New Zealand Journal of Natural Science 24: 101-112.
- Visser, I. N. (1999) Propeller scars and known migration of two orca (Orcinus orca) in New Zealand waters. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 33(4): 635-642.
- Visser, I. N. and Mäkeläinen, P. (2000) Variation in eye-patch shape of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in New Zealand waters. Marine Mammal Science 16(2): 459-469.
- Visser, I. N. (2000)I Orca (Orcinus orca) in New Zealand waters. School of Environmental and Marine Science (p. 194). University of Auckland, Auckland. 194 pp.
- Visser, I. N., Fertl, D., Berghan, J. and van Meurs, R. (2000) Killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation on a shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), in New Zealand waters. Aquatic Mammals 26(3): 229-231.
- Visser, I. N. and Fertl, D. C. (2000) Stranding, resighting and boat strike of a killer whale (Orcinus orca) off New Zealand. Aquatic Mammals 26(3): 232-240.
- Visser, I. N. (2000) Killer whale (Orcinus orca) interactions with longlines fisheries in New Zealand waters. Aquatic Mammals 26(3): 241-252.
- Visser, I. N. (2001) The Orca (ISBN 1 86948 876 8 ed.). Reeds Children's Books, Auckland. 24 pp.
- Visser, I. N. (2001) I love killer whales. Wendy Pye Publishing Ltd, Auckland. 64 pp.
- Visser, I. N. (2002)I Kimbe Bay Preliminary Marine Mammal Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA), July 2002. Unpublished Survey Report for The Nature Conservancy, C/o South Pacific Office P.O. Box 65-506, Mairangi Bay, Auckland, New Zealand.
- Visser, I. N. and Bonaccorso, F. J. (2003) New observations and a review of killer whale (Orcinus orca) sightings in Papua New Guinea waters. Aquatic Mammals 29(1): 150-172.
- Visser, I. N. and Bonaccorso, F. J. (2003) New observations and a review of killer whale (Orcinus orca) sightings in Papua New Guinea waters. Aquatic Mammals 29(1): 150-172.
- Visser, I. N., Fertl, D. and Pusser, L. T. (2004) Melanistic southern right-whale dolphins (Lissodelphis peronii) off Kaikoura, New Zealand, with records of other anomalously all-black cetaceans. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38(5): 833-836.
- Visser, I. N. (2005) First observations of feeding on thresher (Alopias vulpinus) and hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena) sharks by killer whales (Orcinus orca) which specialise on elasmobranchs as prey. Aquatic Mammals 31(1): 83-88.
- Stockin, K. A. and Visser, I. N. (2005) Anomalously pigmented common dolphins (Delphinus sp.) off Northern New Zealand. Aquatic Mammals 31(1): 43-51.
- Visser, I. N. (2005) Swimming with orca: My life with New Zealand's killer whales. Penguin Books, Auckland. 240 pp.
- Visser, I. N., Smith, T. G., Bullock, I. D., Green, G., Carlsson, O. G. L. and Imberti, S. (2008) Antarctic Peninsula killer whales (Orcinus orca) hunt seals and a penguin on floating ice. Marine Mammal Science: 11.
- Visser, I. N., Berghan, J. and Norton, K. (2007)I Killer whales of Antarctica; Details gathered via eco-tourism (SC/59/SM21). 59th Annual meeting of the International Whaling CommissionInternational Whaling CommissionThe International Whaling Commission is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling , which was signed in Washington, D.C...
Scientific Committee. International Whaling Commission, Anchorage, Alaska. - Berghan, J. and Visser, I. N. (2000) Vertebral column malformations in New Zealand delphinids with a review of cases world-wide. Aquatic Mammals 26(1): 17-25.
- Constantine, R., Visser, I., Buurman, D., Buurman, R. and McFadden, B. (1998) Killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation on dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) in Kaikoura, New Zealand. Marine Mammal Science 14(2): 324-330.
- Duignan, P. J., Hunter, J. E. B., Visser, I. N., Jones, G. W. and Nutman, A. (2000) Stingray spines: A potential cause of killer whale mortality in New Zealand. Aquatic Mammals 26(2): 143-147.
- Sorisio, S. L., de Maddalena, A. and Visser, I. N. (2006) Interaction between killer whales (Orcinus orca) and hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna sp.) in Galápagos waters. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 5(1): 69-71.
External links
- New Zealander of the Year finalist: Dr Ingrid Visser, The New Zealand Herald