JKN

Juno~The funny little 8 year old whale who is fed from the green/white marked bucket and targets a whale tale. I describe him as our curious jiggly whale with wide eyes. I LOVE sitting in on Juno sessions. He is always learning and it has been absolutely fascinating to watch his training and desensitization sessions. Lindsey has been working with him to desense him to a toothbrush. The whale's get their teeth done about once a year and they each have an individual toothbrush just like ours. They are battery powered and make an annoying buzzing noise. I have been helping Lindsey by turning the toothbrush on and off when she asks me to. The first time I did it he swam away. She then had me stand farther back, he has gradually been approximated to the point where the toothbrush can now go into his mouth with the back of it touching his teeth while on turned on. He is the whale that you always see interacting with enrichment and with the public at the windows. He can blow bubble rings. He is such a smart and funny whale and I would love to see how he has developed a year from now.

Kela~She is the whale that I have worked with the most. I do not even know how I am going to say goodbye when the time comes. Kela is a whale that you have to earn everything with. Right now she is very vocal during our sessions, stays for tongue rubs, and is energetic and attentive in our sessions. However, when I first started working with her she was quiet, when through the motions, and would back away from station. It has been amazing to watch our relationship form. She is a funny whale. She gets really excited during sessions and will make weeeeeee sounds after nearly every bridge. During tongue rubs she will go underwater and spin in a circle and will give cute little vocals as if to say "more please". Kela has also shown me examples of aggression. Yelling at Juno, head nodding at Juno, jaw popping at the windows. It might look/sound cute to an outsider, but we do what we can to reduce the aggression.

Naku~Sweet, solid, patient, sharing. These are just some of the words to describe this amazing whale. Also fat. At 1400 she is the largest whale in our exhibit. I have learned so much with her. She has put up with all my mistakes (dropping things into the pool being one) and has stayed with me in sessions while I was thinking my way through it. She loves tongue rubs and will vocalize to get them. She loves ice, we can toss ice right into her mouth!! She is a very squinty whale and I am amazed that she can see our sD's and bridges. She will always share her tongue rubs with whoever else is on her session, regardless of who ended her.

I love all of these whales and it is near impossible to choose a favorite. They have all taught me so much and I will miss all of them a tremendous amount.

Wow.

In a little over two weeks I will be back in Jersey. It is so hard to believe that just a short time ago I was biting my nails over leaving home for 3 months and now I have tears in the back of my eyes from not wanting to leave. This has been such a whirlwind. I am not going to write too many more blogs. I am going to follow this one up with a few short ones summarizing my time here. I know that the next two weeks will be insane, busy, stressful, incredible, educational, and every other adjective I can think of. I have me amazing people and have formed friendships which I hope will last forever. I have developed new tools that I can use when working with and training animals. And I have had the opportunity to work with some pretty incredible whales. Writing that last sentence sent a chill through me. My college advisor once asked me what I planned on doing after graduation. I said my usual reply, marine mammal trainer. He turned to his computer and asked me what my back-up plan was for when that didnt happen. I had no answer. I still have no answer. Sure it wont happen immediately. I can see myself going back to the kennel or working at PETCO as a dog trainer or working at a zoo or aquarium with other animals. But this is the final goal. I hate that I am getting all sappy, I make fun of people for this. But it is hard not too when I have been living my dream for 3 months and soon I will back in school working at a job I hate (except for the beloved horses I work with). I am so excited for what my future holds for me, but no matter where my life take me I will always remember where I began.

Thank You All--Lindsey, Justin, Kate, Kelly, Sasha, Kim, Kristine, each and every one of the volunteers (Lila, Barret, Bill, Hilary, Kayla, and Ray), and of course the most amazing whales in the world-Juno, Kela, and Naku

Building My Repertoire and Secondaries

This has been a crazy week. To start off I am just getting my voice back after it took a week-long hiatus, I think my trainer friends were somewhat entertained by my broken record/breaking up cell phone/frog-mouse hybrid voice. But now I just sound like a singer called Duffy according to Justin. Anyway on Sunday Lindsey introduced me to tongue rubs during sessions. Up until now I have been doing tongue rubs after sessions and for trainer interaction enrichment. These are extremely reinforcing to the whales (and all of us!!!). Tongue rubs are also used during sessions as secondary reinforcers. Secondary reinforcement is reinforcement that animals do not need to survive. Clickers and whistles are secondary reinforcers (they are also bridges-they bridge the gap between the behavior and reinforcement. Confused yet? If you are I dont care I'll pull down your underwear!!! Anyway at first I was instructed to treat the tongue rubs as a behavior in order to condition them to being used as a reinforcer, in other words: tongue rub-point at whale to bridge-reinforce with fish. Today Lindsey said I could start using the tongue rub as reinforcement, but also as a behavior. Example: in a session I will give two tongue rubs at some point and then give the whale a fish afterwards, I will also ask for a simple behavior (target or high five) and give a tongue rub instead of a fish. Get it? Good.

I have also received two new behaviors. Yesterday I learned how to do a dorsal layout. Basically the whale's head is against the beach with the dorsal part of their body exposed. I can keep them in this position for up to 30 seconds and can give the sD in either a kneeling or standing position. I also learned low range vocal on Naku today (I will do Kela on Sunday). I simply place a finger n the whales melon (head) and she makes a sound that kind of sounds like giving someone a raspberry. I can do up to 4 of these in a row (bridging in between) before reinforcement.

Finally (I told you this week was crazy), I learned a new game with Naku (again, Kela on Sunday). It is called ring toss. It is the same thing as ball toss, but with a ring. So I have had a pretty cool week with the whales. I am still maintaining everything else I have been doing and learning more and more everyday. I could not possibly ask for a better internship, better animals and people to work with, or a better mentor.

Yep, I pretty much love my life right now.

Quit Playing Games With My Heart

The lame title is in honor of the AMAZING concert that Amanda and I attended and the fact that I can now play a fun game with both Kela and Naku. Its called ball toss which is pretty self-explanatory. I put a ball in the whale's mouth, give and sD, and then catch the ball when they throw it to me. Actually the first time I played with Naku I dropped the ball, scared her, but then she retrieved it for me from the water. She is such a good whale.

I am actually beginning to form relationships with both of the whales. Naku has a "please more please more please more" vocalization when she is getting tongue rubs. She has never done this with me before, but on Sunday when I was giving her ice she started vocalizing to me when I ran out. She has also been vocalizing during our end of session tongue rubs. Kela has been approaching and and vocalizing to me during morning chores. She is also alot more vocal during our sessions and has been eager to stay with me during tongue rubs. I was sharing end of session tongue rubs on her with a volunteer and she seemed more interested in me than the volunteer (something that has never happened before).

I am continuing to maintain and improve on the other behaviors that I have already talked about and I can only hope to continue to improve on what I can and to build up the relationships that I am gaining with the whales.

People of CT

So you know that website peopleofwalmart.com? Well, I have seen some interesting character wandering around CT. I will update periodically

~Two old guys in electric wheelchairs cruising down the middle of my street-I was trying so hard no to laugh

~A young guy walking down my sidewalk with a giant backpack-like those backpacks that you see people wearing when they are backpacking around Europe. Where was he going? Did he think New London was actually in Europe?

~A very very fat guy in the mall with a red shirt that said "Ladies Man"

~A middle aged white man with a pink plaid shirt, light pink shorts, very white shoes, and long socks walking down the sidewalk with two little black girls

~A sporty looking woman parked in my parking lot and got out of the car with an old guy in a bathrobe and slippers. He shuffled to the bushes outside my house and started yelling at her about them (i am guessing thats what he was yelling about judging by his gestures). The then went back to the car and drove off

The House of Horrors

On the edge of the ghetto lies a little house.

A house made of wood and odd colors.

A house with many doors, many locked, many unable to lock.

Within this house lies the Area of the Forbidden.

All who enter will sound an alarm and the Landbitch will come running.

Beside the Forbidden is the Land of Horrors.

On the first level the Quiet Asian lurks.

She is waiting for nightfall to make grudge worthy sounds that give goosebumps to all.

In her room she stays all day, only emerging briefly to eat or to enter the Lockless Sanitarium.

The Lockless Sanitarium is a room to be avoided, but impossible to avoid.

This is the room in which the body is cleansed.

This is the room in which personal moments occur.

This is the room in which the blinds are always open.

This is the room which will never lock.

But this is only the beginning of the tour of the House of Horrors.

Beyond a mysterious door is the Staircase of Death.

This Staircase is is narrow.

This Staircase is steep.

This Staircase will unleash even the tiniest peep.

Above the Staircase of Death dwells two entities.

Choose the door to the right and will encounter the Dirty One.

This creature from the seas lives in a Floorless Room.

Clothes giving off the odor of deceased fish and dry sweat create the foundation of its chamber.

In the pit of the night the devil yells.

In the pit of the night the devil cackles.

In the pit of the night the devil speaks its native language.

This may seem the worst of the choices, but go the left and it may be regretful.

Choose the door to the left and encounter The Raccoon.

This is the one that never sleeps, yet sleeps the day away.

This is the one who will snatch your meals before they are prepared.

This is the one who will hoard your earnings without a tinge of guilt.

This is the one who will make sure you never hear anything else but its own creations.

Close all the doors, make it down the Staircase, sneak past the Asian, and avoid the Sanitarium.

The journey through the House of Horrors is now over.

Drive away and never look back.

A Day in the Life

Working with animals there is no such thing as a "typical day", but I will give a basic rundown of what I am doing every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

5:30 wake up

7:00 leave

7:30-9 soda ash, bicarb (if needed), foot baths, clean the weir, sweep the beach, western quat the beach, rinse the beach, get rid of puddles, get rid of pine cones, clean windows (if it has not been done already), help out in the kitchen (if needed)

9:15ish plan the board (go through each feeding session and decide who is going to work what whale and what they will do with them), put vitamins in fish, cut Kela's fish (if needed)

9:30 Feeding session #1, when it is over the buckets, lids, and toys get cleaned and the fish bin gets "flipped". The buckets for the next session are already set (the fish prep person has already done this) so the buckets for the following session need to be filled-the fish are already weighed out and in a bin ready to be put in the freshly cleaned buckets. Enrichment follows this, it has already been planned for the day.

10:15ish Break=Beanery!!!

10:45ish clean fish for the next session

11:15 Feeding session #2, repeat

12:15 Lunch

1:00 Observation period for my research project

1:30 Feeding session #3, repeat

2:30 clean fish

3:00 Feeding session #4, repeat-the AC side of the kitchen now gets cleaned from top to bottom

4:00ish Enter my data into the computer

4:30 clean fish

5:00 Feeding session #5, repeat-the PI side of the kitchen now gets cleaned from top to bottom, I also usually check that all pool gates are open if no one has already has

6:00ish leave:(

My First Behavior!!!!!

Life at the aquarium has been above and beyond fantastic. Everyday is a new day that always comes with fun, learning, research, and surprises. These past two days I went in early to learn how to do fish prep. All of the diets for the whales gets weighed out in the morning and then cleaned and sorted throughout the day. Sunday I watched Kelly as she did it and yesterday Lindsey had me doing it pretty much on my own. Both Amanda and I are doing this so we will be ready to do it on our own at 6 am tomorrow (I will talk all about that in my next post). Fish prep seemed overwhelming at first, but once I got a rhythm down it was pretty easy and kinda fun!!

I also got to do new things with the whales yesterday. During some of the feedings the trainers will do window sessions. This is when one trainer is down by the window asking for behaviors from the whales, this gives the public an up-close look at the whales. Then there is another trainer sending, receiving, and reinforcing the whale. I got to play this role with Naku. She is such a smart and solid whale, she anticipated what I wanted her do do with the first tap on the lip (I almost didnt get a chance to finish the sD!!). I also got my first behavior today, a high five!!! I got to practice it a few times with Kela. I can do it with both her pecs and I ask her with my opposite hand. It is the coolest thing ever!!! Kela gives the best high fives in the world, I cannot wait to try it out with Naku!

Naku and Kela are not the only whales that are teaching me. Juno, our younger whale, provides countless amounts of entertainment and learning opportunities. I love sitting in on his sessions (even though I dont do anything hands on with him). There is so much to learn training wise as they are constantly training new behaviors and desensitizing with him. I have also been in the lip a few times with him so eventually one day he will participate in the beluga encounters program. You can tell that he wants to learn and do the right thing. He is such a funny whale and I cannot wait to watch him progress throughout the summer!

Who said playing with toys and learning my ABC's was child's play?

So this week was busy in the world of whale training training. Now that I am solid at doing both targets and point follows Lindsey has brought new things into my sessions. Sunday and Monday was all about learning how to do A to B's. That is when someone sends the whale to someone else who then has to receive the whale. I learned how to both send and receive. I was successfully able to do this with both Kela and Naku. After one of my Kela sessions on Monday she stayed with me for tongue rubs longer than she ever has!!!

Today I was introduced to toy play in the sessions. Toy play involves various props that can be used in different ways: they can be held in front of the whale to target, it can be placed on the head, it can be used to feed with, etc. I had alot of fun figuring out different ways to use the toys. With Naku I used a hollow cone, a ball with a hole in it, and a mirror. I used to the hollow cone to feed her and I put it on her head, I used the ball to feed her, and I held the mirror in front of her while feeding her. I used all of these for her to target in front of me. With Kela I used a more solid cone, the same ball as with Naku, and a small pipe. I used all of these to feed and target and I put the cone on her head. She seemed to really enjoy the session and made vocalizations that I have not heard from her before (Lindsey said they meant she was having fun). I also got to do a trainer interaction with her which involved me just going out on the beach and rubbing her tongue. It was really cool because no food or signals were used, she came to me on her own accord, and made the decision to stick with me:)

Living in CT

Its different here. I have never spent such an extended amount of time in a city before. There are ALWAYS sirens, children screaming, music blaring, tires screeching, the night sky has no stars and a vivid moon. I never realized how spoiled I was. I now know more than anything that as soon as I can afford it I will buy small house on a quiet road with at least 3 acres of land for a couple of horses and a multitude of chickens. Dare to dream. I still find it odd how people are nice, its actually rubbing off on me, I am actually smiling at strangers...weird I know. The weather is very unpredictable. It will go from stormy, to hot, to perfect with a breeze all in one day. I was not expecting much of a weather difference being only 3 1/2 hours from wonderful Jersey. I cannot wait to go to the aquarium tomorrow. I love how I have a job in which days off suck more than anything.

Seagulls, Feedings, and Squirmy Creatures!!!

So things are going beyond amazing at the aquarium!!! I think I might have to take time to update these blogs more so they are not so long!! So on Sunday (I think, I lose track of the days) I was feeding Kela, everything was going great until a seagull tried to steal her fish-twice. She spooked and swam away, but luckily came back:) Evil little birds. It happened again today during a point follow. I was feeding her fish at one of the gates, dropped in the water (slippery little bastards they are) and a seagull grabbed it out of the water (i was hoping he would choke on it) but Kela was a trouper and stayed with me this time.

Aside from kicken it with the whales other activities go down at the AC. Today I was cleaning the weir (the drain connected to the marsh) when I noticed that the "algae" that was everywhere was moving. What I thought was algae was actually a disgusting amount of mosquito larvae. It was the most disgusting living entity I have ever encountered in my entire life. There was literally an inch thick wall of these things. Anyway Sasha stepped in and 3 clothing changes later the weir is currently green maggot free (way to go Sasha!!!!) I also met the new intern, Amanda, yesterday. She is, like everyone else at the aquarium, super nice and I cannot wait to work with her more.

So of course everyone is reading this to find out what I am doing with the whales. The past two days have been awesome. Lindsey has been teaching me point follows and targets. Point follows are when the whales follow you around the beach. During point follows you have to stop at every gate you pass and reinforce, I also learned how to bring the whales through the gates. There is alot of right and left deciphering however so far I have been able to do it without a slip (haha actually that is a lie since during a point follow with Kela yesterday I tripped and fell on the beach scaring the poor whale....poor Kela! Now I am checking my shoe laces before every session since apparently I am a 5 year old who walks around with untied shoes all the time). Other than that all is well!!! I also learned how to target both high and low. The low ones are a good way to kill some time during sessions since I can hold the whales there for up to 10 seconds-with Naku I can even rub her melon during that time. The high ones are also fun because the whales pop out of the water for it.

I have also taken 3 very difficult quizzes on daily routines, enrichment, and the individual animals. I didnt think I could do it but I managed to pass all of them (i really wish they would invent a sarcasm font). Today I also got to get in the lip with Kate, Kristine, and Juno!! Kristine is currently training Juno to do the encounters program so it is very beneficial for him to have "guests". It was so cool to watch the process of teaching a young whale...not to mention I just about melted inside when I got to give him a tongue rub, melon rub, AND I GOT A KISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So things are still going well. With each feeding session that I do, participate in, and observe I learn more and more. It is so amazing to watch the individual trainers with the different whales, there is so much to gain by just watching what everyone does in different situations. Being able to actually apply what Lindsey is teaching me and what I have been observing is such a fantastic thing, I cannot wait to see what the rest of my time here has in store for me.

When I'm not working......

.....I'm still at the aquarium!! Or at least in Mystic. On Tuesday I went for a wander around the quaint little town. I cant get over how insanely nice everyone is around here. They smile and say hello to total strangers. I am definitely not in the "fuck you state" anymore. As I was wandering I stumbled upon a coldstone!!!!! I have not had the wonderfullness of the creamy chunky amazingness in over a year....its the little things in life. I also explored a large cemetery near Mystic Seaport. I found a bench overlooking the river and found it to be amazingly peaceful. Yes, I am a freak who finds peace with the deceased (haha that kinda rhymes). Unfortunately this peace was soon shattered when I discovered that my credit card had escaped from my possession:( But then everything was alright again when I wandered around New London and found the river and train station (I am still perplexed by people saying hi to me, I don't know these people, what do they want from me? Do they know something that I don't? Is there something in the water here? Is Jersey really just the nastiest state in the world in which everyone just hates everyone that the don't, or even do, know?)

On Friday I spent the day at the aquarium. I wandered around it taking pictures of all the exhibits and, of course, the whale feedings. At lunch time I tagged along with the trainers to a cute little pizza place and had some fantastic bbq pizza which Alyssa introduced me to. After the 130 session Sasha broke out her guitar and Kate broke out her voice for a jam out sessions for the whales and Kodiak the massive stellar sea lion. All in all it has been a great week. I am loving everything about being here (except for sirens at night and boring days off). Can't wait for tomorrow!!!

So much to talk about

Everyday is a new day at the aquarium. There are always a variety of enrichment available for the whales, varied feeding sessions, new things that I am being introduced to, as well as a hodge podge of shenanigans. This past week Lindsey worked with me to begin feeding the whales. I am currently doing paired feedings in which I feed about half and Lindsey feeds about half. It is challenging when I feed since I have no behaviors, toys, or secondary reinforcers to use for the sessions so I have to find different ways to stretch the sessions and vary them up. Ways to this include: holding the fish underwater, standing up and throwing the fish to the whale, and putting the fish through the hole in the bucket topper. The more I get to feed the more comfortable I am becoming with the whales (as well as them becoming more comfortable with me). I was also introduced to stationing and ending the session. At the start of each session 3 whistles are blown. This is a signal to the whales that it is feeding time. Upon hearing the signal each whale seeks out and targets their assigned shape (with the exception of Juno who is currently being trained to do this). Naku is a circle, Kela is an X, and Juno is learning a whale tail. Once the whale has targeted their shape they get two pats and the melon and the session starts. Once a session has ended, when there are no more fish, the trainer waves their arm over the bucket which communicates to the whales that there is no more food.

On Wednesday I actually got to do a whole mini-session with Kela. Every Monday and Wednesday there are divers in the pool at the end of the day. Because of this the whales are gated in the holding pool. To provide some reinforcement for being gated a smaller, shorter session is done with the whales after their usual 5:00 feed-it consists of only about 30 fish. Lindsey let me do Kela's feed during this. I got to station her with her X, feed her throughout the session, and end her session. During the session it is also important to communicate bucket levels with the other trainers. This allows everyone to keep at the same pace and end at the same time so that there is no competition for food. Kela was great during her session. She was very attentive, vocalized, and even stayed for a couple of tongue rubs. Later that night was volunteer appreciation night. I never realized how many volunteers there were-over 500!!! It was held in the indoor part of the aquarium where all the fish, sharks, and rays are (amongst other fun sea creatures). It had some fantastic food, which is always a plus!! It was hard finding people at first, but I eventually found the AC crew and hung around for about 2-hours. I also met Kayla who is a volunteer I met on facebook (she works on Fridays which is one of my days off). It was a great day which ended in my apartment losing electricity for about 15 hours. Since I am too cheap to buy new food dont be surprised if I die of food poisoning.

On Thursday I got the opportunity to plan enrichment for the day. Enrichment can include anything tactile, visual, or audio related. The Whale Enrichment Team (WET Team) does enrichment for the whales in the morning before their first feeding. After that the whales get enrichment after every feeding except for the last one. For yesterday's enrichment I planned out for the whales to get deflated bouys (they get thrown into the water), shakers (basically us walking around the beach with marraccas), sprinkler (they have a sprinkler that they can use, I actually dont know how this went down since I was talking training with Lindsey), and basketballs at cobbles windows (bouncing basketballs at one of the viewing windows).

More went down today, but I am sick of typing:)

Best.Job.Ever

It is hard to believe that after all the hard work, resume/cover letter reviews, advisory arguments, classes, papers, phone calls, panic attacks, applications, interviews, apartment searching......its hard to believe that after all of that I am finally here. It is so amazing to say that I am a Beluga Whale Husbandry Intern at Mystic Aquarium, Institute for Exploration. I have wanted this more than anything for as long as I can remember. Is it fate that the first cetacean I ever saw in person was a beluga whale? Probably not, but its a cool thing to say. Anyway I am writing this blog in order to keep everyone updated. So many people want to know EVERYTHING and quite frankly I dont feel like calling everyone and having people give people false information. Soooooo where to begin?? Why not the beginning!!!!

So my first day was just a general orientation. No sexual harassment kids!!!! I then got the chance to go to the back-up area of the beluga and PI (pribolof islands) teams. It was there that I met some of the trainers including Lindsey who is my awesome mentor, and Alyssa who is the current intern. Lindsey allowed me to go on the beach while the whale were in session. It was amazing to watch the whales and trainers in action. I then decided to wander around the aquarium (although I had already done that the previous day, but you can never get too much of whales, sea lions, penguins, and fishies). Let me just say that Mystic Aquarium is awesome. The exhibits are incredible, the animals are content and healthy, and the people are phenomonal. I could spend all day everyday just walking around the aquarium and watching the goings on. Anyhoo, the next day was my first day. I met the trainers Kate, Kelly, Kim, Sasha, and Justin who are all amazing (actually I didnt meet everyone that day but that is just a list of all the trainers I met). I also met the volunteers Lila and Barret who are equally kick ass. It was really hectic because they were doing the last of an online live broadcast series. Lindsey was up in the studio hosting the broadcast so I followed Alyssa around that day. If anyone wants to watch the broadcast got to immersionlearning.org or mysticaquarium.org. I watched her, as well as other trainers do feedings with the whales. There are 3 whales: Kela, Naku, and Juno. Kela and Naku are both 28 year old females and Juno is the newest whale (he arrived in January) and is a 7 year old male. I will talk more about the individual whales once I know them better. While observing the sessions Alyssa let me do tongue rubs on Kela and Naku, the whales LOVE to have their tongue rubs and give the coolest vocalization during them and the feedings. During one of the sessions I had the awesome privilege of going into the lip. The lip is where guests can go waste deep into the water with the whales for interactions. It was sooooo amazing being in the water with one of the whales (Kela to be exact). Along with all the whale sessions I also learned maintenence routines (such as cleaning the beach and the weir). And cleaning/sorting fish. Each fish gets examined to make sure it is in perfect quality for the whales. It was a 10-hour day, but it definitely did not feel like it!!!

The other two days I have worked so far have basically been the same. I get to observe every feeding session (and both of the other days I got to go into the lip again!!!!!!!) which allows me to learn about the individual whales, how to handle them, bucket levels (more about that later), trainer communication, etc. I am becoming more comfortable with the cleaning routines and fish prep. I will soon get signed off on these so that I can go ahead and do all of these on my own. I also met more volunteers-Hilary and Bill, and they are of course amazing like everyone else there. The trainer Justin also took the time to show me all of the filtration apparatus. It is amazing to see all of the equipment and chemicals that are necessary to keep the aquarium going. He taught me how to re-fill the chemical soda ash into the system which helps the water filter and bicarb which is another chemical (ok so I dont remember exactly what everything does but its important and part of what I will be doing on a day to day basis). When I use these chemicals I have to wear gloves and a funny face mask so I dont burn my hands or fuck up my insides. Yesterday Lindsey let me feed the whales during the sessions. She would pass them off to me so I could toss some fish into their squishy mouths (they get a diet of caplin, squid, herring, and mackerel). It is so amazing that I got to feed whales on my third day. I also learned how to give them a visual bridge (pointing at them). A bridge is a secondary reinforcer that lets an animal know that they are doing a good job and reinforcement will be coming (this is what clicker training is-the clicker is the bridge). It allows a trainer to pin point the correct behavior as soon as it occurs which leads to a more successful training session. I did this every so often to get myself used to doing the bridge, I was basically reinforcing them for being attentive. On one of the sessions I got to do the end of session signal for Kela (waving my arm over the bucket). This tells the whale that the session is over and that there are no more fish. However, Kela and Naku usually stay for tongue rubs anyway:)

So as you can tell I am LOVING my internship. I hate having days off (like right now) and do not mind having a 530 wake-up call. I cannot wait to post more on my internship.

Happy reading!!!!!!!!!!