Ingrid Visser (biologist)

Dr. Ingrid N. Visser. Photo by Jo Berghan

Ingrid Natasha Visser (born 20 February 1966 at Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand) is a marine biologist who studies orcas. She regularly lectures on the subject aboard cruise ships, especially in Antarctica, and has been featured in several documentaries about orcas.

Early life

Visser's parents were Dutch immigrants who came to New Zealand in the 1950s. They were both nationalized as New Zealanders after she was born. She has one younger sister (Monique), also born in New Zealand, and currently living in Auckland, New Zealand.

Between June 1982 and November 1986, Visser sailed with her parents and sister aboard a 17-metre (56 ft) yacht,^[1] around the world. The trip covered over 50,000 nautical miles (93,000 km) and visited more than 40 countries.

Education

Visser holds three university degrees: a Bachelor of Science (Massey University), a Masters of Science, and a Doctorate of Philosophy (both the University of Auckland). Visser has been working with orcas (Orcinus orca, also known as killer whales) since 1992 and completed her PhD in 2000, the first scientific study of orcas in New Zealand waters.

Scientific work

Her research on orcas has been published in international scientific journals, since 1998, and many of these publications are available on the Orca Research Trust website.^[2]

In 2002 Visser’s research was instrumental in the New Zealand Government’s reclassification of New Zealand orcas 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 articles and her photographs have appeared in magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, New Zealand Geographic, and An Encyclopedia of New Zealand .^[3]

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”, which was a finalist in the Environmental category of the 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 also a public speaker.

Other work

Visser is a member of the Australia & New Zealand branch of The Explorers Club and continues to travel the world in search of orcas. She has published the first manuscript on Papua New Guinea organs, and returns regularly to Walindi Plantation Resort to conduct field research there.

She is also playing a crucial role in the Free Morgan Foundation efforts to free the captive orca Morgan^[4] and has appeared in court in the Netherlands in connection with Morgan’s release efforts.^[5]

In September 2010, she co-founded Whale Rescue, an organisation of volunteers who provide logistical and practical expertise and equipment for rescuing cetaceans.

Documentaries

Visser has appeared in and contributed to documentaries featuring her research with orcas. IMDb lists some of her work:^[6]

• Discovery Channel’s “The Orca: Killers I have Known” (1997)
• Animal Planet’s “Untamed & Uncut: Killer Whales Attack a Seal”
• PBS and Jean-Michel Cousteau’s award-winning “Call of the Killer Whale” (2009)
• BBC Two’s “The Woman Who Swims With Killer Whales” (2011-2012)^[7]

References

External links

• Ingrid Visser on IMDb
• New Zealander of the Year finalist: Dr Ingrid Visser, The New Zealand Herald
• Orca Research Trust