A land-based day of dolphin chats and data entry

 

Friday morning we spoke to a group of high school students visiting Bimini on a field trip. Although it was an early start for many of them, you could tell they were ready and eager to listen. Kel began by discussing DCP and our research focusing on the dolphins around Bimini. Amy and Alexis helped with discussing the various ways to identify individuals and answering a few of the students’ questions. At the end of the talk we had a very lively discussion on the proper ways to swim with wild dolphins. We discussed the difference between chasing and swimming alongside the animals, as well as being respectful and not touching the dolphins. Thank you to the group for allowing us to come in and chat with you!

After our talk, Amy and Alexis went for a grocery run. For those that don’t know, groceries are shipped to Bimini from Florida once a week; so you have to go soon after the shipment arrives (usually Thursdays) if you want the good stuff! Once we gathered everything we needed, we headed back to the house to unpack our food and start some data processing. We worked on identifying still photos of the spotted dolphins and entering sightings data from our boat trips earlier this week. We also spent some time IDing dolphins for the 2012 video log. Did she just say 2012…? Yep, we are a bit behind with so much data and not enough hours in the day to get caught up, but we are hoping to make a pretty serious dent in the catch up game! Wish us luck!

Later gators,
Amy, Alexis, & Kel