Though the interns didn’t have a dolphin trip on Thursday, they still managed to fill up their day with DCP activities, and Brittany and Sabena even managed to squeeze in a SCUBA dive! They got up bright and early to meet the Bimini Undersea dive crew in order to gear up and get fitted. The boat headed out at about 0900 and soon they reached their first dive site, the Bimini Barge, which is an amazing 90 foot ship wreck dive! After a rest period, the boat headed to the next dive site, Turtle Rock, where Sabena and Brittany were able to observe lots of active wildlife under the sea, including a camouflaged skate, a small Moray eel, and even a very curious puffer! It was a great way for Sabena to start out her underwater time in Bimini. While Brittany and Sabena were diving, Alexis worked hard on entering some sighting data from DCP’s dolphin trips for this year, since we are currently trying to utilize some new software to map out all our coordinates. She also worked on organizing DCP’s bottlenose dolphin catalogue to get it prepared for the addition of new individuals. After lunch time Sabena and Brittany switched places with Alexis, who then took some time to relax and read on the beach! All in all, it was a busy, but enjoyable day for the DCP interns, even without the ‘in-person’ company of the dolphins!
Kel did get to visit with the dolphins after departing Sea Crest Hotel & Marina shortly after 1500. It didn’t take long to see dolphins and we were greeted by Prince William (#64) who at first seemed to be alone. We soon realized, however, that there were more dolphins scattered about. Tim (#69) stopped by the boat for a bow ride and after that, the bulk of the afternoon was a mini-Mother’s Day. We are pretty sure we saw Freckles (#15, pictured here) and her older, un-catalogued calf, as well as Romeo (#10 – pregnant?), Tina (#14 – pregnant?), Lil’ Jess (#35) and Leslie (#80). Lil’ Jess and Leslie both had calves in tow and Kel observed that the calf associated with Leslie most often is male. This calf was pestered by a small remora while the other calf (likely Lil’ Jess’s) has an identifiable marking. We don’t know if it is permanent, but we should be able to use it for at least a few weeks! The end of the day brought a group of juveniles, including Addie (#84) and un-named #93 and #95. It was yet another great day with another great group of passengers!
Until next time,
Brittany, Alexis, Sabena & Kel