The all-day picnic for AKR is today with a boat trip to Osgood Cay.
We all went on the picnic to Osgood Cay today – the picnic that used to be on the beach at West Bay is now on the AKR cay on the other side of the island. Very beautiful reefs and set up generally. The pool is two circles but with tile design to make it like a fish. (I saw the fish from my airplane when I arrived!)
I was able to get a data collection session with Rita, her calf, Gracie, Fiona, Jack and Mr. French. Rita was very affectionate with her calf and vice versa. They were pec fin rubbing and body rubbing and coming close enough for me to view them for several second to a minute at a time. Rita rubbed her face along the calf, too, which was neat to see.
Fiona, Jack and Mr. French decided that periodically throughout the 30-minute session that I would be their toy to crowd and circle close. It is very difficult, near to impossible, to do behavioral studies on flesh! They would get so close, I often only saw their side, back or an eyeball. I swam backwards or to the side and then was able to document a bit more of their antics – they were chasing each other a bit was well.
It was a great session and my first at Osgood Cay. It was also the first session for our Research Team to conduct surface observations. They did a great job!
Tomorrow will begin with an early morning session.
Until then,
Kathleen