Meet Otto.

Last week, I had the pleasure of naming a whale. A fantastic opportunity, thanks to @Association ELI-S, a project to protect whales in Nicaragua - a cause close to my heart. I love whales, and I love the sea.

Otto (identified by the characteristic fluke - similar to a fingerprint)

As a child, I spent most of my summers in Croatia, by the seaside, part of my Croatian heritage. Then in 2000, fresh out of university, I travelled to Argentina where I saw a humpback whale for the very first time: a mother and her baby. Up close, from a small rubber boat. The calf was so curious that it came right up to us. I could have reached out and touched it. I was completely in awe. Ever since that first encounter, I have crossed paths with whales time and again and each sighting brings me back to that unforgettable moment in Argentina.

Many years later, I wanted my sons to experience that same sense of wonder for nature. In 2024, we travelled to Costa Rica and spent several weeks in a small coastal village with a turtle conservation station, waiting for hours as leatherback turtles came ashore to lay their eggs. On other nights we watched the hatchlings make their determined race to the sea. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience - for my sons and for me. Every hatchling was unanimously named “Otto, Otto 1, Otto 2", and so on.

So when Joelle, from Association ELI-S, told me I could name a whale, the name came to me instantly. Otto. A reminder of the time we spent in Costa Rica, and a tribute to the beginning of Samanea Innovation.

We’ll be following Otto's journey between Nicaragua and California with great excitement. You can follow Otto too: https://happywhale.com/individual/7044

About Association ELI-S: For nearly a decade, Association ELI-S has protected Nicaragua's endangered Central American humpback whales and marine wildlife through scientific research, the creation of Nicaragua’s first whale-watching regulations, conservation policy, and the identification of key marine habitats. The organization also strengthens marine conservation by training local researchers, educating communities, developing conservation resources, and rescuing stranded or entangled marine animals.

*** Regulatory Affairs and Circular Economy - explained in plain English.

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