The curating PNG’s wildlife

By NATALIE LAVI

WHEN Jim Anamiato took on the task of assisting a James Cook University Biologist, Dr Isabel Beasley to carry out a study on dolphins and dugongs in the Kikori Delta, little did he know that this would pave way for him to one day travel to Brisbane in Australia to learn more about curating biological specimens, and enhance his career skills.
From Morobe, Anamiato began his career as tradesmen. He graduated from Polytech College (then Lae Technical College) after completing High School at Bugandi. An opportunity to work with the museum presented itself around the time Jim had just completed college and was job hunting. Anamiato applied for a job at PNG National Museum and Art Gallery, got accepted, and was on the next flight out of Morobe, bound for Port Moresby.
Currently the Acting Chief Curator of the Natural History Branch at the National Museum and Art Gallery, Anamiato has been with the museum since May 1978. He started out as a technical assistant, preparing, preserving and curating new in-coming specimens from national and international researchers.
This also meant interacting with the public, and explaining to them the history of species on display during natural history museum exhibitions. As a curator, Anamiato has developed a passion for studying PNG’s fauna diversity. Travelling around the country, even to the remotest areas, and discovering unique animal species not yet known to science, collecting them, and documenting the discoveries by way of writing publications is self-satisfying, he says.
“Learning more about the importance of conserving species, how to preserve them with care, and recording new discoveries so that the knowledge is shared, brings with it some sort of fulfillment by knowing that you are doing your part to educate the people around you through the work that you do and helping to keep our natural history intact,” he explained.
In 2013, Dr Isabel Beasley from the James Cook University contacted the National Museum and Art Gallery about her study on dolphins and dugongs from the Kikori delta (Pidu project), in Gulf Province. Dr Beasley was about to conduct a major expedition to the Kikori Delta, and she requested assistance from the museum with her research.
Anamiato put his hand up to help. The study required him to travel to Kikori with Dr Beasley, where he assisted as an observer, data recorder, advisor and government representative. As a result of this study, new dolphin specimens were found in villages and were donated to the National Museum by community members. To enhance his knowledge of curating, and how to preserve new-found species, Anamiato was sent to Brisbane on a two week training course on curating and cataloguing specimens, with a focus on marine mammal specimens, particularly with regards to necropsy (examination of dead body) of marine mammals.
The PNG National Museum and Art Gallery did not have any PNG dolphin material in its collection prior to the Pidu project, therefore collecting existing specimens and storing them appropriately was considered a high priority.
Anamiato spent a week at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane City with the museum’s Collection Manager Dr Heather Janetzki, and another week with the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville with Collection Manager Robyn Cumming.
“It was a wonderful experience with new learning for me,” Jim said.
Anamiato, Janetzki and Cumming all learnt a great deal from this exchange, with good relations being built to facilitate future collaborations between the institutions.
Dr Beasley who took him on-board to assist says, “It has been a wonderful journey working with Jim (Anamiato) on the Pidu project. He has been a great ambassador for the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery.”
“Jim is a great naturalist and museum curator, and always worked well with community members when we were in the field, always coming up with great ideas on how to engage the community and other researchers in museum activities, which I learnt a lot from. It is a real highlight to work with someone who enjoys his job, is proud of the organisation he works for, and always strives to do the best job that he can.”
She says, “Jim and I hope to initiate a marine mammal stranding and necropsy network in PNG so any marine mammals that are found dead on beaches and coastlines can be recovered and necropsied, similar to what is done at the Queensland Museum. There is still very little known of marine mammals in Papua New Guinea waters. Stranding and necropsy programs assist with understanding species diversity as well as mortality rates and causes, which are really important questions for conservation and management.”
The Pidu Project and Anamiato’s training was funded by ExxonMobil PNG Limited, operator of the PNG LNG project, through a partnership with James Cook University (JCU).
ExxonMobil PNG has a strong focus on conserving Papua New Guinea’s unique environment and protecting its biodiversity and has been working closely with JCU by funding studies on another endangered species – the Pig-nosed turtle (Piku) also in the Kikori delta. ExxonMobil PNG’s dedication to understanding and preserving the environment is setting new environmental benchmarks for future developments in PNG.
l Natalie Lavi is a Contractor Public and Government Affairs For ExxonMobil PNG Limited.