Ambassadors
Sussex Dolphin Project Ambassadors
We are delighted to be supported by these Ambassadors who share our determination to highlight the diversity of marine wildlife found along the Sussex coastline and our commitment to protect it.
Dr. Leigh Hickmott



Research scientist and zoology expert Dr. Leigh Hickmott has led international teams of scientists and film-makers on award-winning expeditions to document incredible wildlife stories. As a specialist in animal behaviour, Leigh’s expertise and approaching 30 year career, have resulted in international collaborations with a variety of universities, government agencies, production houses and NGO’s, studying some of the world’s most unusual and cryptic species. Keen to showcase both the majesty and fragility of many of our planet’s habitats, Leigh is a passionate science communicator whose research has spanned all seven continents and from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
Leigh is a whale biologist based in Petersfield, Hampshire in the south of the UK. Originally from Sussex, he studied zoology as an undergraduate at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, leading to an MRes in Environmental Biology and PhD (Behavioural Adaptations of Beaked Whales) from the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
After studying bottlenose dolphins in Scotland’s Moray Firth at the beginning of his career in 1998, he went on to research incorporating the use of animal-borne tags to investigate the influence vocal adaptations and prey behaviour have on the behavioural and foraging ecology of cetaceans. This led to his PhD research on beaked whales and the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals.
Leigh’s PhD research was based on Abaco and Andros Islands in The Bahamas, where he has been studying marine mammals for the past 25 years. From blue whales in Patagonia, sperm whales in New Zealand, Omura’s whales in Madagascar, killer whales in the Aleutian Islands, bottlenose whales in the Arctic and humpback whales in Antarctica, Leigh’s work has literally taken him to every watery part of our planet. His Antarctic research is centred around large-scale ecosystem dynamics – using fin whales and Antarctica’s apex predators, killer whales, as indicators to assess climate change effects on Southern Ocean habitats.
Leigh has co-authored and contributed to scientific research papers on an array of cetacean species and topics including Antarctica’s killer whales and his killer whale research is featured in the BBC documentaries ‘Expedition Killer Whale’ and ‘Frozen Planet II’.
As a killer whale expert, he has provided interview content for BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme and quotes for publications and digital media, including for ‘National Geographic’ magazine, ‘The Times’ newspaper and ‘BBC Earth’.
Leigh has also acted as an ‘on location’ scientific adviser during the filming of natural history series, including National Geographic’s ‘Epic Adventures’, Emmy award winning ‘Animals Up Close – Killer Waves’, ‘Our Oceans’ on Netflix and the yet to be released series, ‘Sentient’ on Disney+ and ‘Blue Planet III’ on the BBC.
Leigh’s Antarctic research journey began in 2017 and he has returned every austral summer season since. He has crossed the infamous Drake Passage countless times, on ships and sailboats and has explored from Coronation Island in the South Orkney Islands, to Elephant Island (made famous due to the exploits of Ernest Shackleton and his crew), down into the Weddell Sea and along the Western Antarctic Peninsula to Marguerite Bay and Alexander Island.
Leigh’s killer whale research includes studies of three ‘ecotypes’ of killer whale found along the Antarctic Peninsula’s coast, Type A, Type B1 ‘pack ice’ and Type B2 killer whales, with his core focus on Type B1 ‘pack ice’ killer whales.
Leigh’s ‘pack ice’ killer whale research is focussed around Adelaide Island and the Arrowsmith Peninsula, where in combination with their population and behavioural studies, he and his colleagues are working to initiate new guidelines for an ‘Acoustic Awareness Zone (AAZ)’. The proposed AAZ aims to help reduce the impact of vessel traffic on the environment and whale behaviour when vessels are transiting through critical ‘pack ice’ killer whale habitat.
A cornerstone of Leigh’s academic research is the use of photo-identification to identify individual animals for population studies and more recently photogrammetry, to assess the health status of wild animals. Leigh is a skilled photographer, with images featuring in National Geographic magazine, Disney+ digital content and a variety of research articles. Latterly, his images were chosen to feature as part of the British Antarctic Territories 2023 stamp collection.
Leigh is a keen birder and water enthusiast with a passion for sailing, paddle boarding, wild swimming and free diving. As an outdoor enthusiast and naturalist, he enjoys everything from bugs in the back garden to snorkelling in Skye. He supports and has been an active participant in fund raising for charities in the UK and abroad, including the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, South Georgia Heritage Trust, Skye & Lochalsh Environment Forum, Friends of the Environment and Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (where he sits on the board of directors).