Day Five - March 27

We Love Our Dolphins and the DRC!

Waiting for our Dolphin Encounter

Today was our last day working at the DRC with all of our exciting new friends Noelle, Hannah, and Doug. Our morning started off like every morning, saying good morning to the dolphins. Then it was time for our Dolphin Encounter, which is our actual swim with the dolphins and some fun signaling activities as well. Although today was much warmer than yesterday, it was still breezy, so the water was a bit chilly for us. We didn't mind though because we were having so much fun with them. After we all jumped in the water and practiced a few signals we were ready to work with the dolphins. We got to give them back rubs, handshakes, raspberries, kisses, and other fun behaviors. Then we were all given the chance to swim to the middle of the lagoon where the dolphins swam out to us, picked us up, and gave us a ride around the lagoon and then back to the dock! Everyone had huge smiles on their faces and created a memory to last forever. The DRC photographed each one of us individually so we have a permanent reminder of this special experience.

The entire Dolphin Lab group

After our swim we dried off an headed back into the classroom for a seminar on dolphin maternity. This was a memorable seminar for a lot of us. We learned that dolphins give birth tail first, unlike humans. After the calves come out, the mother quickly swims away from the baby to break the umbilical cord, then the baby calf makes its way to the surface to take his or her first breath. All this information and swimming earlier made us especially hungry, so it was time for lunch. The afternoon was spent observing dolphin sessions and attending two more seminars. In one afternoon seminar we learned about the laws that surround marine mammals and in the other we learned about their environment and how humans affect it, and not in a good way. Reduce, reuse, recycle are important words to live by to try and help our marine mammals' sustainability.

Our day concluded saying our last good bye to the dolphins and having our last reflection with the DRC staff. They also threw a pizza party for us and we enjoyed each other's company playing games and Hannah shared her henna talents with us. It was a great day. Even though we are very excited to venture to the turtle hospital tomorrow, the DRC will always hold a special place in all of our hearts.