Following the swim, we conduct a morning data collection session
The smiles almost say it all! Team #2 thoroughly enjoyed their swim with the RIMS dolphins and being underwater brought their sea-grass game to a new level. Geoff and Ron spent a bit of time closer to the sea floor nudging sand and sea grass and they each had a couple of pointy rostrums next to them. Even Mrs. B brought her calf close enough for a few folks to get a good look at him. Mr. French has been trying to “stretch his flippers” by venturing a bit further from mom each day. Mrs. B is still keeping him close, however. We split our data collection session into two half our sessions to avoid draining my team overly as today was quite hot. This also allowed everyone to more quickly relive their underwater experience … and for me to query (nay, “grill”) them about the behaviors and interactions they witnessed while swimming among the dolphins. It is neat how folks will quickly realize that they are seeing and remembering specific behaviors like pectoral flipper rubs, genital to melon bumps, contact position and more. The sounds they are hearing gain new meaning when you can hear a dolphin whistling as it zooms past your right side. We are planning for another hour session tomorrow. Till then, Cheers Kathleen