Where in the world is researcher Mauricio Cantor? India | OSU Today

Mauricio Cantor, center, with a large group of students and researchers at the University of Kerala. 

Mauricio Cantor is an assistant professor in the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. He is a behavioral ecologist who studies mutually beneficial interactions between human fishers and dolphins in southern Brazil and is now expanding that research to India.

Where were you working?

Cities: Thiruvanantapuram, Kerala, India (where the University of Kerala is based); then our field work was at the Ashtamudi Lake, located in the city of Kollam in the Kollam district of the state of Kerala, India. 

What languages are spoken there?

Malayalam is the official language of the state of Kerala. Other languages spoken include English, Tamil and Hindi.

What was the focus of your work?

This was the first expedition of the new project we started at OSU with support from the National Geographic Society, studying the ecology and evolution of cultural and cooperative behavior among humans and dolphins. We went to visit our local research team at the University of Kerala and the field site in Ashtamudi where artisanal net-casting fishers may be interacting with wild Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins to catch fish.

How much time have you spent there?

This was my first time going, hopefully out of four trips in the next few years. I was there for about 10 days in September.

Mauricio Cantor takes in the scenery during his recent trip to India.

What’s the best local food you’ve eaten? 

Sadhya: a vegetarian dish served on a banana leaf, especially during festivals like Onam. It includes a variety of dishes such as rice and many curry-like dishes (e.g., sambar, parippu, avial, pachadi) and pappadam, crispy fried lentil wafers.

What’s the most non-touristy thing you got to do?

Search for bonnet-macaques in the Ponmudi National Forest park.

What’s an important phrase you’ve learned to say in the local language? 

“Nandi” — thank you.

What’s one thing you’ll take away from your trip?

All the spices and curries and great food.

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Cantor and colleague pose on a train during their India trip.

What were you most surprised to learn? 

How many similarities the region has with my own country, Brazil. There’s a similar warm climate, warm people — and lots of them.

Who are your closest local colleagues in India? 

Dipani Sutaria, researcher of marine mammals, and Biju Kumar, professor at the University of Kerala.

What are the biggest challenges of working there?

The language barrier; the complicated bureaucracy to do research (our Indian colleagues know their system very well) and the fact that the very thing we want to study — cooperation between wild dolphins and artisanal fishers — seems to be becoming rarer.

What did you most miss from Oregon? 

The cooler weather.

What piece of advice would you give others who might travel there?

You’re in for a treat. Smile, be polite and open to new perspectives.