kori burkhardt / “koko”

sunsets and sea pancakes 🥞 // forever my favorite place to take a swim ✨

Monster tigers are my love language 🦈💕 T16 was my first Tahitian tiger back in 2015 and also my first tiger with @pierrick_moana in 2017 🥰 Every tiger has an individualistic set of behaviors and disposition, making every encounter a new experience. There’s nothing I love more than getting to know individual animals over the years and learning their unique attributes. T16 is consistently bold and comfortable in her place as queen of the reef. We never know when we will see which individuals but she has a pattern of stopping by soon (july-sept), and I really hope to share more time with her and continue to learn from her. 💫

Moments that will live a lifetime in my brain, captured by @cobiandewey ✨

a little slice of heaven right in the lagoon ✨

just taking the dogs for a walk ⚡️

All of the oceanic whitetip sharks tagged for Project Parata are the result of reported observations by fishermen or tour operators. We tagged six sharks in the 2022 field season and are currently on call for the 2023 season ready to tag this year’s sharks!🤞🏼🦈 Shoutout to the team for being ready to go at all times and for giving this project their all 🙏🏼 And to @taylork.sea for being the smallest ballast ever in rough seas on the smallest boat in the fleet/data assistant this day and to @awardagency for the photo/for inviting us to the pilot whale and shark party ⚡️ Mao Mana Foundation / DIREN project (permit no. 06793/MCE/DIREN)

Of all the photos I’ve gathered over the years of myself underwater, this one holds a permanently sacred place. My first underwater portrait while learning to SCUBA with my father when I was young. Spending more time in Missouri since Temano was born has been a much needed reminder to show myself grace, to take moments to be proud. I was just a little girl with “impossibly big”dreams diving through the Missouri mud refusing to dream smaller. Thank you bb koko for being so feisty and stubborn, wouldn’t be here without you. 🙏🏼

counting sharks instead of sheep before an afternoon nap on the boat 🦈✨

He points out their eyes and kisses their heads, and now he’s starting to call them by name instead of just “ray”. I love that he so effortlessly understands the uniqueness in each living being.

A nice surprise yesterday while surveying the FAD of Haapiti for oceanic whitetip sharks for @maomanafoundation Project Parata, we instead discovered the rare blue shark! Although this species is now incredibly rare to encounter in French Polynesia, it was once more prevalent and holds a place in Tahitian culture as Te Ma’o purotu, the sacred blue shark favored by Ta’aroa that was lifted to the celestial waters as guardian of the gods, becoming Fa’arava-i-te-ra’i. ✨🦈

Incredibly honored to be one of the wildlife photographers selected to contribute to the @100fortheocean print fundraiser supporting the funding of ocean conservation through beautiful art. Head over to @100fortheocean to view the print shop, and explore some of the world’s most passionate ocean advocates and artists. Two of my prints, Like A Dream and Reef Mother are available through the fundraiser throughout this month. Help us reach our goal and make a difference while collecting some art ✨

This earth day we would like to celebrate Project Parata, the first study designed to investigate the horizontal and vertical movement ecology of the oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) in the South Pacific. The results of this project will improve the understanding of the movements of this species and map their critical habitat areas in French Polynesian waters. In order to do this, fin-mounted satellite telemetry tags are used to gather behavioral, environmental, and location data. By better understanding the movement and behavior of this endangered shark species within French Polynesia, we can provide management tools for further protection. Polynesia is a special place in how the environment is viewed and respected. Sharks particularly hold a sacred place within the culture, especially the Parata. So in addition to the traditional designing of study methodology, it was important to design the study with cultural respect and inclusion. A priority was made to have those who are culturally connected to the species to be the ones handling the shark. Rather than bringing in outside shark ecologists to assist, our team was made of local fishermen and captains. The team went through intensive training on safe and efficient handling/tagging of sharks by marine ecologist Kori Burkhardt, co-founder of Mao Mana Foundation and resident of Moorea, before entering the field. We are excited to continue this project, a collaboration with the DIREN, with another year of tagging and we look forward to sharing the results soon! All research and handling of a category B protected species within the sanctuary was carried out under Permit N. 06793/MCE/DIREN in collaboration with the Direction de l'Environnement Polynesie Française.