British Columbia Marine Mammal Studies

PWT11 Update - Saturday, July 16, 2011

SEAL-O :) :) :)

What’s up? A whale skeleton hanging over our heads in the whale lab!

Everyone was woken up to the lively sound of my Ocarina (round flute) playing tunes varying from patriotic (Yankee Doodle) to Broadway (“Memory” from Cats). I’m not sure everyone was so happy to be woken up though. Oh well. Hard boiled eggs and toast for breakfast brightened everyone up, with a few hash browns on the side.

Today, the lecture covered Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals. Then, we separated out into two different groups, each consisting of a fisherman, a marine biologist, an activist, and a whale watcher (except pour moi; I got to be the “government official” that mediated the groups). In an hour, we were to develop two plans on how to conserve the environment in some way while still making sure the economy of the locals was not hurt.

The field trip was a bird-watching experience. We saw Bald eagles, California seals, and blue herons (oh my!). Ali, our teacher for the day, drove us to her house for a brief moment. Her family had just finished fishing for shrimp, and as a bonus, they gave us the fish that had gotten caught in the net. Among them was a squid that Zarah immediately got excited about. She turned to Maggie and asked if she wanted to hold it. Maggie shook her head, but Zarah suddenly yelled “squid high-five!’ and slapped the squid into Maggie’s hand. Poor squid, and poor Maggie…

     


Next came another lecture, this time on Odontocetes (toothed whales). We took so many notes!! After that, presentations commenced, with Lia, Olivia, and Kirsten taking the floor, and Steven and Anny right after them.

We came back to the dorms after a dinner of asparagus, potatoes, and ham. Studying became the activity in the common room. In the span of an hour, we found that we had lost something dear to us all… Alas! The last of the graham crackers had been eaten. A moment of silence for these delicious crackers…

At 8:30, most of us hiked up to the lecture room for more review in a game called Bingo… well, SEAL-O, actually. S=species, E=eating, A=adaptations, L=lifestyle, and O=oddities. Lia and Kirsten won, but next time, the rest of us will prevail! All joking aside, it was a fantastic way to study. Lia volunteered to be leader of the day tomorrow.

Wish us luck for the mid term tomorrow!
Becca Mellema

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