José Javier Delgado Esteban

I had the great opportunity to be interviewed by Eli Bristow on her ABC Great Southern Saturday Breakfast, where we talked about the fascinating Southern Right Whales. 🐋 It was a privilege to discuss my upcoming documentary, "Mammang", which dives deep into their story.

The 3 part documentary has been a labor of love, combining aerial photography and recent research to shed light on these majestic creatures as they journey along the southern coast. 🌊

Thank you, Eli and ABC Radio, for having me, and to everyone who tuned in! Stay tuned for more updates as "Mammang" unfolds.

If you would like ot catch it, our conversation starts at 01:05:25"

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/greatsouthern-saturday-breakfast/saturday-breakfast/104411370?utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared

A tender interaction between Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) mother and her calf, gliding through the crystal-clear waters off the south western Australian coast near Albany in Western Australia.

The calm, turquoise sea of this calving bay provides a striking backdrop for the dark rotund bodies of these gentle giants.

The calf, tagging alongside its mother, plays as they navigate the ocean’s surface, a reminder of the nurturing relationship between them.

Still from my upcoming movie 🎥 about the annual migration of these remarkable cetaceans.

Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis), in Noongar Mammang or Mernong, are known for their close bond between mothers and calves. They accompany their mothers on the annual migration from feeding grounds to breeding areas.

This journey can be up to thousands of kilometres each way. Mothers often seek out calm, shallow waters for their calves. These areas provide protection from predators and rough seas.

Frame from my upcoming movie Maamang Southern Right Whale. Part I - Djilba - August & September.

Maanang Southern Right Whale is the first instalment in an ongoing web documentary series capturing the awe-inspiring journey of the Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) as they make their annual migration along the southwestern coast of Australia, near Albany.

This series offers an intimate look into the lives of these majestic creatures, showcasing their migration from the food-rich, frigid sub-Antarctic waters to the warmer, shallower coastal regions of Western Australia, where they come to mate and nurse their young.

As part of a broader project, future episodes will delve deeper into the lives of these whales, exploring their interactions with the environment, their social behaviours, and the ongoing conservation efforts that are critical to their survival.

🌟 Exciting News! I just completed a Video of the Radio-Tracking Expedition in collaboration with Gilbert's Potoroo Action Group(GPAG)🎥🌿🌟

Gilbert's potoroo or Ngilkat (Potorous gilbertii) is Australia's most endangered marsupial, the rarest marsupial in the world, and one of the world's rarest critically endangered mammals, found in south-western Western Australia. A fungus-eating nocturnal macropod that lives in small groups, It was thought to be extinct for much of the 20th century, having not been spotted for around a century, until its rediscovery in 1994.

The only naturally located population is found in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in Western Australia, where they co-exist with other marsupials such as quokkas (Setonix brachyurus).

During the first week of February 2024, I had the privilege to participate in and document a rigorous radio-tracking study conducted on the critically endangered Gilbert's potoroo or Ngilkat (Potorous gilbertii) within the pristine confines of the Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in South Western Australia. 🦘🌳

This project, supported by Gilbert's Potoroo Action Group (GPAG), Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia, and funded through the 2019 State Natural Resource Management Program Western Australia grant, aimed to shed light on the habitat use and movement patterns of these rare marsupials, especially in areas affected by the catastrophic fire in 2015. 🔥

Working closely with dedicated volunteers and experts from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), we meticulously monitored the nocturnal activities of these elusive creatures, previously radio-collared using cutting-edge techniques. 📻🌌

Gilbert's potoroo, often dubbed Australia's rarest marsupial and one of the world's rarest critically endangered mammals in the world, holds a special place in conservation efforts. With only around 150 individuals left in the wild, every insight gained from our expedition contributes significantly to their preservation.

Special thanks to Dr Tony Friend, Research Associate with DBCA/Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia, and Dr Jackie Courtenay, Communications Coordinator with Gilbert's Potoroo Action Group (GPAG) for their support and guidance throughout this project. 🙏

Gilbert´s Potoroo Radio Tracking-Expedition. February 2024. We recognise and acknowledge Aboriginal Noongar Menang peoples as the traditional owners of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve.Over a fortnight, a rigorous radio...

Unexpected Christmas present, my collection "Mangrove whiprays of the Great Barrier Reef" has been awarded Gold at the prestigious Tokio International Foto Awards 2022 under the Nature/Underwater professional category.

Jose Javier Delgado Esteban, Winner - Mangrove Whiprays of The Great Barrier Reef The mangrove whipray (Urogymnus granulatus) inhabits shallow inshore waters and mangrove habitats. It's highly symbolic in Aboriginal Australian society.This series was produced at Magnetic Island part of the Great Barrier Reef in Far NortQueensland, Australia.The world-first observations I made dur...

My collection "Mangrove whiprays of the Great Barrier Reef" has been awarded Silver at the prestigious New York Photography Awards 2022 NY Photography Awards under the Nature/Underwater professional category.

Mangrove whiprays of the Great Barrier Reef by José Javier Delgado Esteban Mangrove whiprays of the Great Barrier Reef by José Javier Delgado Esteban | Category: Nature Photography - Underwater | New York Photography Awards

Can stingrays really talk? - ABC Australia Far North Radio covers our world-first observation of sound production in wild stingrays The Stingray Diaries Sharks And Rays Australia Fish Thinkers Research https://www.abc.net.au/farnorth/programs/mornings/can-stingrays-really-talk/14004270

Stingrays recorded making clicking sounds - ABC Far North Stingrays can make clicking sounds but what are they saying?

Very happy to find my picture and description of the world-first observation of Stingray sound production featured in the National Geographic article about our findings. The Stingray Diaries Sharks And Rays Australia Fish Thinkers Research

"When photographer and co-author Javier Delgado Esteban witnessed a wild mangrove whipray making sounds in 2018 in Geoffrey Bay, Australia, he noted another interesting behavior. After making the clicks, the juvenile was quickly joined by a number of other stingrays. (See the enormous stingray that set the record for world’s largest freshwater fish.)

The others would come in and pile around it, and all have their tails with spikes sticking up,”

Would you like to read more?

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/stingrays-recorded-making-sounds-for-the-first-time

Mongabay.com Covers our world-first discovery of sound production in wild stingrays and illustrates the article with some of my yet unseen images. The Stingray Diaries, Sharks And Rays Australia, Fish Thinkers Research

https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/stingrays-can-talk-when-they-get-riled-up-new-study-suggests/

Stingrays can ‘talk’ when they get riled up, new study suggests In 2018, marine scientist Joni Pini-Fitzsimmons received an unusual stingray video from a colleague. It showed a mangrove whipray (Urogymnus granulatus) gliding over a reef in the Gili Islands of Indonesia, making short, loud clicks as it moved its spiracles, the respiratory openings near the animal...

Forbes covering our world-first discovery of sound production in wild stingrays. The Stingray Diaries, Sharks And Rays Australia, Fish Thinkers Research

https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2022/07/24/stingrays-make-sound/?sh=7fe516576d38

Stingrays Make Sound! A new paper provides the first evidence of not one, but TWO species, of stingray actively producing sounds.

Australian Geographic covering our world first discovery of sound production in wild stingrays Fish Thinkers Research, Sharks And Rays Australia, The Stingray Diaries

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2022/07/world-first-evidence-of-stingrays-making-sounds/

World first: evidence of stingrays making sounds A study published in the journal Ecology presents the first evidence of two species of stingrays producing sounds for self-defence. Sharks, rays, and skates, which are part of the cartilaginous fishes, were to date thought to be mute, and lacking the ability to communicate with sounds.

It was the summer of 2018 in the paradisiac tropical Magnetic Island part of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia. We lived on the island for around three months while Lisa was ferrying to work every day to the mainland and I was working on a photographic project with the incredibly shy Mangrove Whiprays (Himantura granulata).

The original plan was to try to photograph the Dugong a marine mammal very similar to the Caribbean manatee but soon I realised this was going to be practically impossible without having a boat.

The work I assigned myself to do as most natural history and wildlife photographic projects required an enormous amount of patience.

I would drive to the local mangroves where I found a nursery of very young Whiprays and get in the water at low tide and attach myself to the mangrove tree roots to be secure when the tide rose as any movement would spook the colony who would then rapidly disappear.

So there I was from around 7:00am until 10:00am, any later it would have been too hot to be in the water on those latitudes, wearing my full body anti jellyfish suit from head to toe just waiting. These tropical waters during the summer months are inhabited by the very small but very lethal Irukandji jellyfish.

Irukandji syndrome is a painful, potentially lethal condition caused by the sting and envenomation from multiple jellyfish species. It is characterised by severe pain, muscle cramping, hypertension, and potentially life-threatening cardiac complications. You really do not want to be in the water without full body protection.

Apart from the very real risk of an Irukandji encounter the waters had been known to have saltwater crocodiles from time to time so to say that I was careful it’s an understatement. Crocodiles are potentially dangerous to humans. People should never take unnecessary risks in crocodile habitats.

All of these safety considerations are hard to follow if you come from Europe where virtually nothing in the natural world might kill you. Still, I have spent enough time in Australia to know how to go about this type of project.

For 10 days I returned to the bay and was able to photograph the colony of Mangrove Whiprays nearly every day, they never were any less shy so being complete immobile was paramount, now this can be pretty tricky when the tide starts to come up.

From a safety standpoint, Whiprays as most rays have one or two dorsally positioned serrated venomous stinging spines located in the first third of the tail. The toxin is mildly envenoming only, not likely to prove lethal from the venom, but mechanical trauma potentially lethal. In cases of major mechanical trauma, significant tissue damage can occur and if major vessels are severed, exsanguination can occur. Similarly, severe, even lethal internal injury can occur if the chest or abdomen is punctured. This injury may not be immediately apparent, and delayed death is possible.

Accidentally I got too close to one of the young rays that was separated from the rest of the colony. Apart from the automatic reflex of throwing up the tail with the poisonous barb, the animal quickly moved away. I took a bunch of photos and recorded something I then thought without being a shark expert (rays are elasmobranchs in the same taxonomic class as sharks) found very unusual. I could clearly hear how the Ray was making a stress call to the rest of the colony. How that sound was produced in the first place was a total mystery to me!

I uploaded the video to a science portal and the following day I was contacted by an Australian senior fish scientist who told me he knew that elasmobranchs producing sound had never been recorded. According to the scientific literature, mine was the first observation in the world to have recorded such behaviour.

Immediately he put me in touch with a group of fish scientists who knew a lot more about the subject than I and who had been published in the field extensively.

The Stingray Diaries, Sharks And Rays Australia, Fish Thinkers Research.

They all agreed this was a truly unique discovery, so we started working on our scientific publication now titled “Evidence of sound production in wild stingrays “

Four years have passed and for those who are not familiar with how long a process of publishing a new scientific publication can be, we submitted the paper to several journals, faced some rejections, and had to make multiple changes but finally, I am very pleased to announce that the discovery I made during that crucial and far-reaching week back in 2018 at Magnetic Island where I married my adventurous, intelligent and beautiful wife, has become a reality and has been published in the Ecological Society of America Journal.

“Keep your eyes open, keep your eyes low, love everything around you, love everyone around you and never ever betrayed your childhood dreams.”

A link to the paper here:

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecy.3812

Link to the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D74INfJAVgk

Link to the images here:

https://javierdelgadoesteban.com/mangrove-whiprays

Javier

Javier Delgado Esteban Photography - Mangrove Whiprays Editorial,​ Fine Art, Scientific Cinematography&Photography

My collection about a Komodo Dragon hunting for Water Buffalo in Rinca Island, Indonesia has been officially selected at the Tokyo Foto Awards 2021 in the Nature-Wildlife category.

Tokyo International Foto Awards

The collection Antipodean Fur Seals of Australia and New Zealand
has been awarded the Gold Medal in the Nature Photography - Underwater category at the prestigious New York Photography Awards 2021