Mrs. B brought her new calf over several times and so did Carmella!
My first session was right after the morning feed. If felt good to get back into the water with the MVA. Paya came by to check me out as did Ken. He and Bailey decided it was fun to poke a hydrophone or my elbow or flipper a few times. Sometimes it is very hard not to have any reaction, but when recording their behavior, I’d prefer they ignored me for each other. The first session or two has them remembering who I am and what the green thing with me is (the MVA) and the fact that I am boring (i.e., do not react).
It took about 20 minutes of recording Ken, Bailey, Paya, Cedena and Alita before I spied Mrs. B and her calf zooming by and then I caught a brief glimpse of Carmella and her tiny calf – who seems so much smaller because Mrs B’s calf is so big! Mrs. B’s calf was all over the place, even trying to catch up to Paya as he stretched the space between he and his mom. Carmella kept her much younger calf (born on Tuesday!) next to her. This calf was a bit more wobbly than Mrs B’s, but still moving well. Carmella had her calf on the opposite side of her body to me and my MVA. Once she was close and I got a good view of the calf.
I was able to get a second session of data after the noon feed and training session. Eldon, Aggie and two other folks were also in the swim. Was the first time I had people in the water with me at RIMS … everyone was courteous to everyone else and the dolphins did not seem to mind one bit.
The platforms had been moved in prep for Hurricane Felix, and were not yet returned. The pathway around the pen is higher than it seems when looking at it from the water! They are being brought back this weekend. Hurray.
Cheers
Kathleen