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Teachers in the Field |
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Teachers in the Field |
January 25, 2002
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Our last day! We left at 9 promptly,
weather overcast, and fog, looming in the distance.
What causes fog?
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| We went north into Palma Sola Bay and ventured several times into the Gulf. The dolphins were nowhere to be seen. Around noon, we spied a fin coming towards us. We scanned the horizon, waiting for the next resurfacing. A mom and her calf! We saw more dolphins, 11 in all. Three pairs of moms and calves and three "sub adults" (teenagers to us!), Lizzie, Noah and FB131. Sue Hofmann took care of the visual and photo IDs. I took care of writing survey data with Ann's help and Mrs. McCorry and Don collected the environmental data. |
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| The fog burned off and day became sunny with
some clouds, some glare and good sightability. We had several more
sightings and collected our data. A few times we saw the fins, but
then lost the dolphins. They can sure travel fast in those few minutes
of diving.
We were back to the dock at 4. The MiniMako, our stable boat that I had gotten very fond of, was being taken out of the water for a checkup. In two weeks it would continue these surveys once again, but with a new team to be broken in. |
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| I took off to the Marine Animal Hospital for
another 3 hour turn with Ami, the Pygmy Sperm Whale calf.
In case you have forgotten Ami was stranded on a beach in Miami about a year ago. She was an infant, still nursing her mom. Ami weighed about 100 pounds. Her mom died two days later. The animal care staff at Mote chemically reproduced her mom's milk and began to feed and care for Ami. Last weekend she celebrated her first birthday, weighing in at over 300 pounds! |
Ami is circling around in her tank. |
 
Ti, the injured green sea turtle, is getting fed by Robert. He is eating yummy squid. I threw a few squid to Ti. I had to be careful to throw the squid just in front of Ti's eyes, so Ti could see it to chomp it down. Ti can't dive with the air bubble under his shell. |
Ami is getting some squid too. |
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I have learned about the importance of scientists collecting data. Data is collected systematically and daily. We noted every inhalation and exhalation of Ami for 5 minutes every half hour and for a 30 minute period in every 3 hour shift. I was concerned when Ami would not surface for air for over 5 minutes. Robert assured me that that was perfectly normal for a deep diving whale. The veterinary staff would be concerned if Ami took too many breaths and that would indicate illness. Why do you think it is so important to write down data and to keep
careful records when observing wildlife?
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Maia, is a volunteer who once cared for Ami's mom, but now returns to spend time with Ami |
contact
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