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.