Melissa Hobson
Marine science and conservation writer
Melissa Hobson, doing business as The Ocean Writer Ltd., is a marine science and conservation writer based in Hastings. She has written about the ocean for outlets including BBC Wildlife, BBC Countryfile, National Geographic, New Scientist and the Guardian. Visit Melissa’s website at melissahobson.co.uk or follow her on LinkedIn.
Recent articles by Melissa Hobson
Powerful swimmers with massive heads, thick necks, and paws like sledgehammers, these diving big cats hunt below and above the water. Watch them in action
Jaguars are known to be aquatic hunters but some individuals are pushing the limits through new techniques
Adorable footage shows giant panda chomping on bamboo in Chinese mountains
These characterful animals can consume several kilos of the plant every hour.
This baby elephant taking its first trembling steps is the cutest thing you’ll see today
Baby elephants learn to walk within the first hour of their life. If they didn’t, they might not survive.
Scientists tracked 39 polar bears and 26 seals through the Arctic wilderness. What they discovered is important
The researchers wanted to learn more about how climate change is reshaping Arctic food webs.
Biologists stuck a camera on a sea turtle – and it filmed this
TurtleCams are helping marine researchers learn more about the lives of sea turtles as they cruise through our seas.
'As we approached the overhang, we spotted it – a bizarre creature with a fleshy beard lurking in the shadows'
Wobbegong sharks are ambush predators, hiding in reefs waiting for their prey to swim close enough. But they're very hard to find, says Melissa Hobson, who was lucky enough to spot one on a recent dive in Indonesia.
Researchers put a spy camera into the ocean. And this spiny creature took the bait
This predatory starfish can grow to 70cm in diameter and has white spines all over its body.
Drones film sperm whales headbutting each other. It's the first time the behaviour has been caught on camera
Marine scientists have filmed and scientifically described sperm whales headbutting each other for the first time – validating what mariners have said since the 19th century.
“Its prey was still alive.” Photographer captures blue dragons feeding in unbelievable detail
A nature photographer in Gran Canaria captured hypnotic close-up footage of blue dragon nudibranchs feasting on prey.
Can whales and dolphins crossbreed?
Interbreeding between different cetacean species is extremely rare but has been known to happen
Photographer spots snow leopard in remote Indian mountains. He wasn’t expecting it to do this
Life can be tough for these rare predators, but they still find time to enjoy themselves...
Scientists record world's longest underwater timelapse. What is reveals is astonishing
The 1,000-day underwater timelapse, recorded on an urban reef in Miami, shows corals bleaching before making a miraculous recovery.
Ginormous king penguin colony filmed on remote Atlantic island. The sound of it is ear-splitting
Listen to the remarkable sound of thousands of penguins calling to each other in South Georgia.
Florida's 'spinning' sawfish were in trouble. Now, scientists think they may have hope
An area of the Indian River Lagoon in Florida may be providing suitable habitat for juvenile smalltooth sawfish, suggesting there is hope for the recovery of the critically endangered species.
Researchers studied 184 bull sharks in Fiji – and discovered they might make friends
Scientists studying bull sharks in Fiji found that the animals may have more complex social lives than previously thought.
“Notoriously cannibalistic.” Animals are eating their own kind in this enormous US estuary
Researchers used 37 years of data to study predation on blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay. They discovered the animals are eating each other.
"I believe it may have fallen from someone’s grocery bag.” Scientist finds unlikely creature in US parking lot – and only has one thing on his mind...
The microscopy expert put the big-clawed animal through his micro-CT scanner, creating an incredibly detailed image of its body.
It's as long as a basketball court, as tall as a giraffe and so huge it can be seen from space
Experts estimate that the massive mega coral – found near the Solomon Islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean – is about 300 years old.
"Can you imagine being chased by an apex predator?” Tourists watch incredible escape in Antarctica
Tourists were stunned when a pair of orcas tried to hunt a gentoo penguin alongside their ship. Here’s what happened next.
This area of the North Atlantic ocean is infamous for shipwrecks and conspiracy theories. But does anything live there?
Does anything live in the Bermuda Triangle? Quite a lot actually, as Melissa Hobson explains
Divers saw this ocean giant approaching – and noticed it wasn’t alone...
Researchers have documented “an entire community” of animals travelling with whale sharks – the world’s biggest fish.
"Something wasn't right." Diver films giant stingray emerging from seabed with part of its body missing
When stingrays lose their barb, the animals can survive but are left without their main form of self-defence from predators, says Melissa Hobson, who filmed the injured animal while diving in Indonesia.
This haunting shipwreck in North Carolina has its own 'shark ballroom'
Why sand tiger sharks aggregate at the Aeolus wreck off the east coast of the US isn’t clear.
“I couldn’t make sense of what I was looking at” – Deep sea submarine pilot recalls first sighting of super rare ocean giant
It’s not only deep-sea researchers that get to see the rare giant phantom jellyfish
