Harold (aka Kodi) the manatee is a free man! After being given a clean bill of health, the logistics of his release were thoughtfully sorted out. On Thursday, 19 March 2009, this manatee was released near Crystal River on the west coast of Florida. He is once again outfitted with a radio/satellite tag, which will allow researchers to track the adventurous animal’s movements. For a short time following the release, his movements were observed by boat. He appeared to be fine and soon met up with another adult manatee.
Tag: older content
Back online
The DCP website is back up and running after a spot of trouble. Seems some unsavory characters had hacked into our servers and were using it to host nasty malware or some such nonsense. A revitalized website is now up and running with some extra safety measures in place. Our apologies to anyone who may have been affected/infected.
Watch the January 2009 Manatee Rescue!
As many of you already know, in late 2008/early 2009, we observed an apparently healthy, male manatee off Bimini, Bahamas for 8 weeks. Manatees are not generally found in this area and so it was decided that, if possible, this ~1200 pound mammal would be captured and returned to its native Florida. Here, you can relive part of the 24 January 2009 rescue:{youtube}8m77N3qRYVI{/youtube} This manatee, first called Harold but renamed Kodi, is currently residing at the Miami SeaQuarium's manatee rehabilitation center.
DCP in the News!
Here at DCP, we aren’t the only ones talking about us! The island of Bimini and the dolphins there are highlighted in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Underwater Photography Magazine. More recently, Dr. Justin Gregg provided an interview for the Irish Veterinary Journal. You can read each piece by selecting the PDF links below.
What object do dolphins use as tools in the wild?
What object do dolphins use as tools in the wild?
{audio}podcast/thedolphinpodepisode13quiz.mp3{/audio}
Here this episode’s quiz: wild dolphins off the coast of Australia have been observed using a ‘tool’ to help them forage – what tool is this? Think you know the answer? Surf on over to the dolphin communication project website and click on Contact to leave us a message with your answer.
Ship Strikes, Emie’s questions, tools (Episode 13)
In this week’s episode, we will focus our Science Spotlight on ship strikes, and in our Kids’ Science Quickie, we’ll field questions about dolphin communication from eight year old Emie.
In this week’s Science Spotlight, I will be interviewing Fabian Ritter co-founder of the non-profit research organization M.E.E.R. (Mammals Encounters Education Research) about a growing problem facing dolphins and whales: ship strikes. Thank you for joining us today Fabian – to begin with, what exactly is meant by the term Ship Strike.
Videos
DCP has uploaded a couple more videos to our YouTube channel, including an interview with Emie: {youtube}udH5gjH_TAM{/youtube} Eight year old Emie had a few questions about dolphin communication for a science project she was putting together, and contacted researchers at the Dolphin Communication Project (DCP) to see if they could help her find the answers. In this video, Emie asks her questions and receives a video response from Justin Gregg – research associate at DCP. Emie's questions were:
1. How do dolphins hear high pitched sounds?
2.
Dolphins
Why are dolphins getting kill? Do u think that it's fair for the dolphins?
Field Course in Cetacean Ecology
Worried you missed the deposit deadline for our Field Course in Cetacean Ecology?Worry no more! The remaining slots will be now be filled on a first come, first serve basis.
Goodbye Harold
Harold the manatee’s time in Bimini came to an end on Saturday. After much discussion with local Biminites, the Bahamian Department of Marine Resources, US Fish & Wildlife, US Geological Survey and Miami SeaQuarium, the decision to capture Harold was executed…. Here is Harold resting on his sling just before he was back in the shade. My day began at approximately 7:15 a.m., with a call from the SeaQuarium Curator. He and his 6 person manatee rescue team were 2 miles off Bimini aboard the US Coast Guard’s Cutter, Kodiak Island.
Love dolphins? Love science? You've come to the right place!
Whether you’re a young student interested in learning more about dolphin biology, a college student looking for internship experiences working with dolphins, or a seasoned researcher hoping to connect with colleagues on topics of dolphin behavior, ecology, or cognition, you’ve come to the right place.
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