On Wednesday morning, I joined the SMCM students once again, this time for a lecture & practical on photo-identification. It’s just about my favorite topic to discuss! The students were engaged and knowledgeable and I hope they came away with good info and introductory photo-ID skills to utilize for the rest of the course. Unfortunately, wind conditions were even worse on Wednesday & Thursday, so boat trips were postponed.
Friday brought us all back to the “Renegade,” eager to conquer the still blowing wind and find some dolphins! We didn’t have to wait long before eyeing a likely mother/calf pair. Though I didn’t recognize the mother, I’m hoping I got a good enough shot of her back to match her to the catalog. Her back was all I’ll have to work with, as this pair – and the 3rd dolphin who joined them briefly – didn’t stick around for us to observe them under water.
We continued our search closer to the island, since the seas were too rough to allow for any underwater observations. But, we didn’t see any other dolphins. It was still great to see another mother/calf pair, and it was really fun to listen to the students and their enthusiasm over seeing the little one!
Until next time,
Kel
PS: We are still have a few open spaces for our 2 – 7 July 2017 Bimini Research Experience (aka Eco-Tour). If you are interested, email us at info{at}dcpmail{dot}org!