Champ

Champ was first fully catalogued and identified by Big Blue’s Ciara Hunt. During this magical encounter, Ciara happened to be teaching an Advanced Open Water course, so her student, Sanya Shah, was given the honor of naming rights. What an epic way to complete your advanced qualification – memorable to say the least!

Although Ciara was the first to accurately collect both sides of Champ’s face – the key morphological feature that Andaman Turtle Watch uses to identify individuals – Champ had actually been recorded on three previous occasions. However, in those sightings, observers had only managed to capture one side of the turtle’s facial profile. Without the second side, Champ remained in ATW’s “one-side catalogue” until the day Ciara successfully documented the full set. This protocol is central to ensuring that population figures are accurately represented and not overestimated. Thanks to Ciara’s efforts, Champ officially became a fully identified member of the Andaman Turtle Watch database.

Across three of the sightings, Champ was observed foraging, mostly feeding on algae growing on the rocks. All four encounters have taken place around the northern area of Similan Island 9 – adding yet another piece of information to our understanding of sea turtle habitat use there. Every sighting counts; each one adds another piece to the puzzle and another story to tell, inspiring positive behavior change and stronger conservation actions.