First post, ahoy!

My name is Putu Liza Kusuma Mustika, but my 'pet name' is Icha. I've always wanted to make a website that clearly declares my professional interest, as well as past, current and future projects that I did/do/want to do. It struck me tonight that if I just don't 'pick up the pen and write it', nothing will ever happen.


So this is my first post, declaring to the Benign and Benevolent Universe, my intention to stay rooted to my passion, my heart calling as some people say, and that is to become a multi-disciplinary cetologist, or a whale and dolphin scientist.




My journey started about a decade ago, when I left my old job to return to school to do a masters by research at James Cook University on the traditional whale hunting culture in Lamalera, eastern Indonesia. After finishing the masters program, I had a year's break before I returned to the same university to pursue my PhD on dolphin tourism industry in Lovina (north Bali, Indonesia). I have finished the PhD in late December 2011, graduated in April 2012. I'm currently working with Conservation International Indonesia as the manager for the Bali Marine Protected Area Network program. This site is not a CI site by the way; it's my 100% personal site. I'm also working on my future projects, still on the dolphins in north Bali, and cetaceans in general in Indonesia.

From time to time, I will post the abstracts of my publications, as well as my opinions on things cetacean-related, wildlife-related, and environmental-related.

Do enjoy the journey with me.

Pic: Fraser's dolphins (Lagenodelphis hosei) in Bondalem, Buleleng (north Bali) - @putuliza2012


Update 13 February 2014:

I've been a full time cetologist and marine tourism analyst for more than a year now, starting from 1 January 2013. I'm now an independent researcher, shuttling between Bali Indonesia and Townsville Australia. I will be part-timely affiliated with James Cook University again for a tourism economics project at the Great Barrier Reef. Aside from that, I'm still working on my cetacean stuff, mostly as the coordinator of Whale Stranding Indonesia.