New Children’s story book about Atlantic humpback dolphins

New Children’s story book about Atlantic humpback dolphins

The CCAHD is thrilled to announce the publication of a new Children’s book, Keita and the Dolphins.  Vibrant illustrations by Howard Gray bring to life a tale shared by Ibrahima Sory Camara, a storyteller in a fishing community in the Republic of Guinea. The tale relates the adventure of Keita, a young fisherman, who disobeys his father to fish in a forbidden bay where he meets a group of Atlantic humpback dolphins who show him how the sea needs his help.  The story will appeal to readers of any age who love dolphins and love the sea.  The tale itself and the ‘did you know?’ facts at the end of the book will help readers to understand the threats faced by Critically Endangered Atlantic humpback dolphins (AHD- Sousa teuszii), and how coastal communities that depend on healthy marine environments and share their resources with the dolphins can help to protect their habitat and prevent their extinction.

The book was developed through funding provided by the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZF) in collaboration with Biotope International, its office in Guinea, and its Publications branch, Biotope Editions, as part of the 3-year collaborative dolphin research and conservation project in Guinea . It is available in PDF format in English and French on the Resources page of the CCAHD website. It can be freely downloaded for use in educational outreach anywhere in the Atlantic humpback dolphin range.  CCAHD partners wishing to translate the book to other languages spoken in AHD range countries or obtain higher resolution versions for printing in Africa can contact the Secretariat (infoccahd@gmail.com) to request the necessary file formats to facilitate this.

Five hundred printed copies of the French version of the book will be distributed to schools and communities in Guinea under the MBZF-funded project from July 2024 onward.  Funding from the Nuremberg Zoo and Georgia Aquarium will make it possible to print and distribute 500 copies each in five additional AHD range countries where the species is known to occur and partners are actively engaged in community outreach and education – Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal. Additional funds are being sought to print more French and English copies that can be used in other AHD range countries.

Funding from the American Cetacean Society has made it possible to print 500 English copies, which will support outreach and awareness raising.  In the coming months printed copies will also be available for online purchase and shipping in Europe and it is hoped that additional points of sale can be arranged in locations around the world to help spread awareness of Atlantic humpback dolphins and their conservation needs, as well as to generate proceeds from sales that can support the CCAHD’s further outreach and education work in Atlantic humpback dolphin countries.

The illustrator, Howard Gray, is a dolphin biologist as well as a gifted artist who has illustrated several children’s books related to nature and wildlife. He has made isolated illustrations from the book available to develop a complementary suite of education and outreach materials that can be used in schools and communities.  One illustration has already been incorporated into a poster that encourages fishers to report dolphin sightings, strandings or bycatch to researchers in Guinea. These outreach and education materials will be available for download on the CCAHD website for use anywhere in the AHD range and beyond.

Stories of dolphins helping fishermen to find fish, and of dolphins rescuing humans who fall into the sea are common throughout the countries where Atlantic humpback dolphins occur. Many coastal communities in Central and Western Africa also have ancient traditions of respecting dolphins as ‘totem’ animals or protecting certain places from fishing or hunting. We can learn from these traditions to help protect dolphins in our modern world.