How time flies when you’re helping turtles! It’s difficult for me to believe that it’s already mid-July, and yet I feel that in the 1 1/2 months I’ve been here, I feel we’ve accomplished a lot.

The center is now bustling with activity, as people bring their kids in to the Discovery Center for Fins and Flippers on Tuesdays and Wednesday and Marine Animal Medical Mystery Wednesdays. The interns and I had a lot of fun with turtle week, and we’ve been getting pretty creative and involved in planning the crafts each week. I feel as if I get as excited about some of the crafts as much as the kids do! Additionally, we have a good number of volunteers who have just started, and who are making the craft prep workload much lighter for us interns. Thanks guys!

Kids Working on Thermometer Turtles

We have also been busy getting ready for the numerous festivals that take place in July. This past weekend, the interns divided up to attend two festivals; the Sandwich Street Fair and the Swan Festival in Wareham. The Barnstable County Fair, the biggest event of the summer, should be a fantastic time! Starting nest weekend, we will have a table set up in the big tent from 12-10pm until Tuesday. In additional to getting a lovely marine animal tattoo (fake, of course!) and getting to see some of the cool whale specimens at our table, come enjoy the music, food, and (best of all) the RIDES! Can you tell I’m excited?! It will be a great time for all.

In heavier news, it is bothersome to me that the oil in the Gulf spill has yet to be capped, and that the test of a new method if being delayed for another day. Why must we keep waiting? Thousands upon thousands of gallons of oil is still escaping everyday, harming our ecosystems… in my opinion we are not moving fast enough. I also just recently read an Associated Press article about how the first Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle eggs evacuated from the Gulf were released in the Atlantic. The article stated:

“…the newborn Kemp’s ridley sea turtles did well after their release.

About 700 sea turtle nests — each containing about 100 eggs — are being trucked from oiled shores along the Gulf to Cape Canaveral, where they’re kept at a climate-controlled facility. The turtles are being released into the Atlantic as they hatch.

Scientists feared that a generation of the imperiled species would die if they hatched and swam into the oil.”

It is comforting to know that so many turtles were saved, but one wonders what the implications may be for future generations of turtles, which have always nested on the same beach, are relocated to a different environment. It seems only time will tell.

In turtle news at NMLC, Patty’s shell is slowly re-growing! Yesterday, Roger’s removed a good deal of dead tissue, and underneath was a dark pigment of shell starting to return. This is very exciting news, and though Patty’s shell now looks very pink and raw, it is nice to know she’s on the rebound. Catch 22 is as feisty as ever, and the interns seem to enjoy his natural sunlight basking treatment (AKA tanning time) as much as he does.

Summer is in full swing at NMLC, but I’ll be sure to send another update soon!

-Dory

Kids Working on Thermometer Turtles

Today at the National Marine Life Center we started our summer programs. We kicked it off with our first week, Turtle Week, which I had the privilege of being in charge of setting up and running. Today, with the help of my fellow interns and volunteers, we started with Fins and Flippers, which included story time with two stories, the first one was read by Dory Estrada and the second one was read by me, Frank Reske III, and an arts and craft which was mainly taken care of by interns Lianna Montgomery and Corissa Bubenick and volunteer Elizabeth St. Germaine. The stories that we read today were Turtle in the Sea by Jim Arnosky and Do you know where Sea Turtles go? By Paul Lowery. For today’s Art and Craft we did Sea Turtle Thermometers. For these you would take a foam turtle and draw any design with any color on its back then a thermometer and a magnet are glued to it so it can be hung up on your fridge. But that’s just the beginning! Later this week on Wednesday, we will have Marine Animal Mystery which is where we will take you through a mock turtle rescue and rehabilitation, showing you what it takes to help an injured or sick sea turtle. Then on Thursday we have another Fins and Flippers. Thursday’s Stories include Tammy Turtle: A Tale of Saving Sea Turtles by Suzanne Tate and Carolina’s Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too! By Donna Rathmell. The arts and craft is Magic Color Scratch Turtles, which you scratch with a stick to reveal a rainbow of colors. So as you can see a lot is ahead so come on down and join the fun!

And if you can’t make it to this week’s excitement, don’t worry; we also have many other weeks this summer with many other different creatures, including, but not limited to, sharks, manatees, whales, dolphins, seals, and many more. To find out more please stop by our Discovery Center and pick up a summer program. So don’t miss out. Programs run July through August, so stop in and visit us.

Frank Reske III

Education Intern

Walking into the doors of NMLC, I had little idea of what to expect. As a marine biology major, I applied to the center wanting not only to garner a better understanding of some aspects of this vast field of science, but I was also keen to know more about sea turtles and other marine life that the center takes care of.

Turtles, at times, seem almost human-like in their characteristics. Catch 22 and Patty serve as patients from whom we have so much to learn about their medical mysteries. I admire Dr. Williams, or any veterinarian that matter, for being able to tell what is wrong with an animal just by observation. It’s much more difficult when a patient cannot explain their symptoms, and it is left up to guesswork to see what is going on internally. For instance Catch could not tell us “Jeez guys, I’m not feeling too well with this staple in my abdomen!”  Learning to prepare x-rays and take proper observations was key to understanding this problem.

Shortly after I arrived here, I began contemplating why we do what we do. I mean, why do we spend so much time, use so much equipment on resources, testing water quality, taking x-rays, weight, charts, medicating when the chances of numerous turtles surviving in the wild become slimmer and slimmer with ever-present threats to their environment and ecosystem? But after I went to my first release, I knew. It is by no means a waste; what we do here at NMLC is important to the balance of marine life.

We become attached to these animals to a certain extent. Yes, it is unavoidable. Even though it is hard to resist, we talk to the turtles. They obviously have no idea what we are saying (or do they?) but is a comfort to see one of those tiny little heads looking at you with those beady little eyes and feel like they understand every word. My own philosophy is that that we want these beautiful creatures to thrive in their natural environment. In an ever-changing world, nature is more fragile than ever. It seems fewer and fewer people take the time to stop and realize just how beautiful and precious the wild is, and how wrong of us it is to be dismembering so much of it for our own human advantage. The simplicity of nature is humbling… how creatures have existed in balance to their surrounding for millions of years is remarkable, and it’s time we all work to try and keep this balance… nothing on earth is more important.

The Gulf oil spill is truly a tragedy. Yesterday, while watching the news and a portion of President Obama’s address about the crisis, I was truly alarmed to think that we will be feeling the effects of this disaster for a long, long time to come. There are thousands of species of marine animals that exist in the Gulf, but now so many are in peril, and the fragile web of their ecosystem is on the brink of disaster. It pains me to think about what Tampa Bay may look like in two months time when I return to school. Perhaps oil may have spread there as well…however, I am glad our government is taking the necessary action to clean up this monstrosity, and hopefully see to it that a disaster of this magnitude will never happen again.

The little things we do at NMLC are all for the bigger picture: educating the public so they are more aware of the vital need to protect marine species; proper care and rehabilitation of the in-residence patients; building a larger animal hospital so we can expand our care facilities… all these things make a huge difference in the long-run to protect all marine life.

It seems I’m thinking beyond the dry reading in my Bio 204 book, and am putting concepts into action in the real world. And this, I guess, is what internships are all about.

Until next time!

~Dory

]]> http://nmlc.org/2010/06/the-think-tank-dorys-blog/feed/ 3 http://nmlc.org/2010/06/diamond-backed-terrapin-release-614/ http://nmlc.org/2010/06/diamond-backed-terrapin-release-614/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 23:06:17 +0000 Kathy Zagzebski http://nmlc.org/?p=5363

Occasionally, volunteers swabbed the terrapins' shells gently with a dilute veterinary cleansing solution to remove algal growth.

On June 14th our eight diamond-backed terrapin hatchlings are going home! These small turtles, listed as “threatened” by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, hatched too late in the season last year to survive the cold winter.  They’ve spent the past 7 1/2 months in a nice, warm environment at the National Marine Life Center.  Daily, volunteers fed the animals and cleaned their tanks.  Weekly, volunteers weighed and measured the animals.

Dr. Williams examines each terrapin with a veterinary scope.

With the warming of weather, we’ve been preparing the diamond-backs to return to the wild by introducing clams and quahogs to their diet and increasing the salinity of their habitats to match their natural salt marsh environment.  The last step was an exit exam.  NMLC Veterinarian Dr. Williams examined each animal’s eyes, limbs, and shell, took weights and measurements and a full set of identification photographs, and proclaimed the turtles fit for release!

Thank you to the many volunteers who assisted in caring for these young turtles.  Because of you, the animals have a second chance at survival.

The release is open to the public.

RELEASE DETAILS:
TIME:  Monday, June 14, 3:00 pm
LOCATION:  Meet at Great Island Parking Lot in Wellfleet, MA
DIRECTIONS: From Sagamore Bridge:
~ Cross Sagamore Bridge.  Head south on US-6E for approximately 36.1 miles.
~ At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto US-6E/Mid-Cape Hwy
~ Continue to follow US-6E for 11.7 miles
~ Turn left at School Street and continue onto Mill Hill Road for 0.3 miles
~ Turn left at Ryder Court for 0.2 miles
~ Continue onto Holbrook Avenue, and turn right at Chequessett Neck Road for 0.5 miles
~ Take a slight left to stay on Chequessett Neck Road for 1.9 miles
~ Park in Great Island Parking Lot

Robert and Bob prepare to release an endangered red-bellied cooter.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Bob Christian. I live in Wareham and as a Retired person I do volunteer work at the National Marine Life Center in Buzzard Bay. It’s been my pleasure over the past few months to work with Robert at the Center. I can’t say enough good things about him; he is always willing to give a helping hand without hesitation, never complains and is just a wonderful person to work with. Your School and Robert’s parents should be very proud of the young Man you have molded, in preparing him for his future endeavors . I don’t often write many recommendations for people but in Robert’s case I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to let you know that he is a credit to You his Parents and Cape Cod Academy. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet and work with Robert.

“Sincerely
“Bob Christian”

We couldn’t have said it better.  Thank you, Robert!

Although my main task was the critter tank, I did more than just get that up and running. I helped volunteers like Bob with the Red Bellied Cooters. Linda taught me how to check the water quality. Wendy taught me a trick to make siphoning the water easier. When Len and Paula were in Alaska, I filled in for them. Sometimes I went out and got clean salt water from the pump house when a volunteer needed to be somewhere.  I even helped Joanne create Patty’s new set up with the trash cans and higher water level.

Catch-22

I’m sad to say my four weeks here is up but I really enjoyed my time here. Working with the turtles was a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people. I wish the interns luck with maintaining the Critter Tank and I hope the Discovery Center has a successful summer. Next year I will be going to college at Georgetown University in Washington, DC but I hope will have time to come by and visit NMLC to see what’s going on.

The end of the week was a bit more relaxing and fun. I set up some tanks incase we recieved more Red Bellied Cooters when we turned ours in and then I got to travel up to Westborough on Thursday with some of our interns and volunteers to turn the Red Bellies in. In Westborough we attened a meeting at which we learned about the headstart program. At the end of the day we returned with #122 (later to be named Catch-22) a turtle with a fungus problem on it’s shell. On Friday we went to Middleborough to realese the Red Bellies. I personally realesed three and one of mine beat Frank’s and Juan’s Red Bellies in a race. An interesting thing I learned there was that when the program started the population of the Northern Red-Bellied Cooter was around 300, now the population is around 2,500.

Me releasing a Red Bellied Cooter

I’m on my last week here but it has been fun. Check back to see my final update.

My Original Post

National Marine Life Center Volunteers and Summer Interns at the 2010 Red Bellied Cooter Release!

June New Volunteer Orientation

Wednesday June 23, 2010, 6 pm – 8 pm

July New Volunteer Orientation

Wednesday July 28, 2010, 6 pm- 8 pm

August New Volunteer Orientation

Wednesday August 25, 2010, 6 pm – 8 pm

Volunteer Requirements: Volunteers must be 14 years old to work in Administration, Education and with the Headstart animals. Volunteers must be 18 years old to work with the rehabilitation animals. Volunteers maybe 12 years old if they are accompanied by a parent; there will be no direct contact with animals for anyone under 14 years old.

Without our volunteers we would never be able to educate the public, give amazing care to our rehabilitation animals, or be part of the community! Thank you to our current volunteers and we look forward to working with you!

Judy assists Joanne with an education program and beach cleanup.

In honor of mother’s day, we’d like to thank and recognize our own mothers.  They have taught us compassion towards animals and each other.  They have taught us to be curious about the world around us.  They have taught us the value of education.  They support us and celebrate us and our work.  Today, we celebrate them.

Judy, Joanne’s mom, is a music teacher who lives in Massachusetts.  She volunteers occasionally with education programs and volunteer cookouts!

Judy, Brian's mom, helping Dr. Michele prepare for a sea turtle medical exam.

Judy (different one!), Brian’s mom, is a retired nurse who lives in New Mexico.  When she visits, she loves to help with the turtles!

Trudy (rhymes with Judy), Rogers’ mom, is a retired educator, nonprofit administrator, and business woman who lives in New Jersey.  She was most recently seen disguised as a seahorse at NMLC’s 2009 Mermaid Ball!

Judy, Rogers' mom, with her husband Dick and their family at the Mermaid Ball.

Ann Marie (who has a sister named Judy), Kathy’s mom, is a retired aide for disabled students who lives in Wisconsin.  Her visits are volunteer vacations and she helps out with everything from animal care to education to facilities to the gift shop.

Ann Marie, Kathy's mom, weighs out squid to feed the sea turtles.

Thanks, Mom!