Master of Weird Little Guys 🐬
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anthroandrew.bsky.social
Master of Weird Little Guys 🐬
@anthroandrew.bsky.social
1.7K followers 850 following 440 posts
🏳️‍🌈 He/Him/His
PhD student at University of Texas, San Antonio

Multispecies ethnographer focused on our relationships with dolphins aboard the whale watch.
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anthroandrew.bsky.social
Jaguar drawn in PowerPoint for a presentation on identifying wildlife charisma in archaeological contexts 🐆 🏺
A fearsome Jaguar drawn in PowerPoint
May 2, 2025 at 4:35 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
It's been a week-ish and it's definitely still a raw wound.

I know you're up there waiting at the edge of a yard for me, Krickett 💔
A kind old lady American Shepherd looks at the camera before eating the peanut butter and banana dog-friendly gelato we got her for her 18th birthday.
April 22, 2025 at 2:36 AM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Finally got this done! 😁 🏺
A pair of Yucatan Black Howlers (Alouatta pigra) sing out in their Maya Nut Tree (Triplochiton scleroxylon) home. Also in the canopy is a Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) and a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine (Coendou mexicanus).
April 6, 2025 at 11:01 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Rather feeling this amazing candid of me presenting at #SFAA2025! I had a blast learning about Anthropology's role in conservation (especially in regards to marine resources!) as well as sharing my own brand of "Dolphin Anthropology" 💕🐬🏺
An anthropologist stands at his poster labeled "The Role of Wildlife Charisma and Where it Comes From" and passionately talks about the northern right whale dolphins he studies.
March 30, 2025 at 3:33 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Making a lot of progress on this piece 😁🧪🏺
A pair of Yucatan Black Howlers howl in unison in the canopy of a breadnut tree. The monkeys are surrounded by bromeliads, a blue morpho butterfly, and a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine
March 3, 2025 at 4:20 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
A lovely seen in the canopy of a Breadnut 🏺 #sciart
Water down - really loving this so far. This is the canopies of a Belizean rainforest (Maya Nut or Breadnut, Brosimum alicastrum) with bright green leaves and a bright blue sky. Critters are around here too, and I can't wait to get the bromeliads in too!
February 25, 2025 at 6:06 AM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
A new art start featuring Yucatan Black Howlers (Alouatta pigra), a species that my friend studies! 🏺
Really excited for this piece featuring Yucatan Black Howlers (Alouatta pigra), along with a Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) and a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine (Coendou mexicanus) up in the canopy of a Breadnut (Brosimum alicastrum). This piece is made even lusher with the inclusion of many species of epiphytes "air plants" including several species of bromeliad. It was super fun to do research for this piece and I can't wait to paint it!
February 19, 2025 at 4:19 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Happy #WorldWhaleDay everyone! Here's a few Long-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis bairdii) I saw back in January! 🐬🏺
A few dolphins splashing in the wake of our whale watching vessel.
February 17, 2025 at 1:02 AM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
I'm so happy that this is finished and in a state that I like! Time to sign it and get it a frame 😁
High up in the lush canopy of a Wawa Tree (Triplochiton scleroxylon) a trio of White-thighed Black-and-White Colobus (Colobus vellerosus) pause on a thick branch before deciding if they want more leaves to munch or if they want to sprawl out and nap. In addition to the Critically Endangered Monkeys, there is also a pair of African Giant Swallowtails (Papilio antimachus) and a Sailback Chameleon (Trioceros cristatus). This painting was inspired by the fact that I found my watercolor pencils over Winter Break, as well as several pads of high-quality watercolor paper. In addition to that, UTSA has a whole lab devoted to the conservation of Colobus vellerosus and so many of my dear friends I've made here study them!
February 11, 2025 at 2:14 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Yeah, this is really shaping up into something I like. 🏺🧪
A painting of a trio of white-thighed black-and-white colobus, two African giant swallowtails, and a sailback chameleon live in the canopy of a wawa tree.
February 6, 2025 at 11:19 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
The patience that is required to watercolor is wonderful. Slow down, pay attention to details, and let the paint flow 🥰🧪🏺
A work in progress watercolor piece of three white-thighed black-and-white colobus perched in a wawa tree canopy, which is also home to a sailback chameleon and two African giant swallowtails. Base colors of yellow and yellow-green are placed down.
February 1, 2025 at 5:39 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Doing my best to use art as an escape, and watercolor is particularly good for it. Now that the base green is down I can really start digging into the details 🏺🧪
A lush work in progress of a watercolor painting showing a rainforest canopy in Ghana, home to a sailback chameleon, African giant swallowtails, and the centerpiece, a trio of white-thighed black-and-white colobus. All of the animals here are surrounded by wawa leaves, a tree very important to the culture of Ghana.
January 31, 2025 at 11:11 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Oh my goodness. This was messy and difficult to re-learn, but here's them with masking fluid down! 🏺🧪
Linear sketch of three canopy of a wawa tree, home to a sailback chameleon, three white-thighed black-and-white colobus, and a pair of African giant swallowtails. Masking fluid has been placed over the monkeys' white markings, so that when watercolor is painted over it they'll be protected.
January 28, 2025 at 11:56 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Working on a piece that I am actually going to watercolor!

They're Colobus vellerosus, Trioceros cristatus, and Papilio antimachus 🏺🧪
Linear sketch of three canopy of a wawa tree, home to a sailback chameleon, three white-thighed black-and-white colobus, and a pair of African giant swallowtails
January 28, 2025 at 4:26 AM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Proof I saw some bottlenose today (along with ~1300 Commons of both subspecies and a Humpback Whale) 🤣💕🐬🏺
A picture of the back of my camera, showing a grainy zoom in of a coastal bottlenose dolphin encountered in the Port of Long Beach.
January 16, 2025 at 4:14 AM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Went to the refuge (Sacramento!) with my parents. Saw creatures. It was good. 🪶🦌
A smiling anthropologist at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.
December 25, 2024 at 3:00 AM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Whaling is often portrayed as a single-direction relationship, where the hunters slay a great beast and that's the end.

Of course, Nonhuman Histories explore far beyond that - here's an example from Bathsheba Demuth's work 🏺🐬
A drawing of a bowhead whale hiding behind an iceberg to conceal their spout. A group of Indigenous hunters sail on, looking for their quarry.
December 14, 2024 at 2:28 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Aside from SeaWorld San Diego, I have very little lived experience with the Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - this is a "Shiho"-type native to my neck of the ocean. There's a reason *why* I haven't had much luck being around them and I'm writing an article on it! 🏺🐬
A drawing of a "Shiho"-type Short-finned Pilot Whale. These can be identified by the large lighter "saddle patch" behind their dorsal fin.
December 8, 2024 at 11:26 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Hey 🦊 - here's a lovely buck I encountered while getting lost today.

Texas Whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus texanus).

#mammalwatching
A darkly colored buck stares at the photographer while surrounded by autumn foliage. He is probably wondering if I pose a threat, which I don't - only shooting I'm doing is with my camera.
December 8, 2024 at 6:41 AM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
And while I'll have a probable life-long relationship with these extraordinary animals, they'll always have something to teach me, of course.

Here's California's albino or leucistic individuals, Casper (Monterey Bay) and Blanco (SoCal, near Catalina Island) 🐬🏺
Nearly solid white Risso's dolphin "Casper" surfaces beside a "normal" colored individual in Monterey Bay. A picture of probably leucistic Risso's dolphin "Blanco" surfacing just off the coast of Catalina Island.
December 6, 2024 at 10:14 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
... of course, like many cetaceans, they're uh... also quite good at making more Risso's Dolphins 🐬🏺
Two Risso's Dolphins. One is upside down, a characteristic position of the male dolphin after copulation has occurred. You can even see his "Pink Floyd"
December 6, 2024 at 10:14 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Over the years since I've started working in Monterey Bay, I've seen many special Risso's behaviors. I think top of this list though would be this "mosh pit" of males competing for dominance! 🐬🏺
A Risso's dolphin rises from grey-colored water. The tail and dorsal fin of one Risso's dolphin disappears into the depths. They're surrounded by white water from the action of their fighting. Three Risso's Dolphins can be seen together, all are butting heads and biting one another in attempt to establish their dominance in their group. The tail of one Risso's dolphin and the body and head of another splash as they fight.
December 6, 2024 at 10:14 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Risso's Dolphins are one of the species I've seen the most in my fieldwork - by far they're the most commonly encountered dolphin species in Monterey Bay! They can number in groups of 20 or so to several hundred 🐬🏺
December 6, 2024 at 10:14 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
My favorite scientific name is Grampus griseus - the Risso's Dolphin - when you look at them it's easy to say "yeah, that's a Grampus alright"

Art by me for a paper I'm working on 🐬🏺
A drawing of Risso's Dolphin
December 6, 2024 at 8:50 PM
anthroandrew.bsky.social
Mom sent me this pic of our 18-year-old American Shepherd or Mini Aussie #Krickett - she hasn't let age change the fact that she is in fact a sarcastic little princess. 🤣💕
A very fluffy black tri American Shepherd stares up with her beautiful brown eyes, slightly cloudy with age. She has a small grin because she thinks Mom may be feeding her. She wasn't.
November 16, 2024 at 6:08 PM