Throwback to Tortuguero...

Do you guys ever sit down and think about what you were doing this time exactly a year ago?  I do it ALL OF THE TIME.  In fact, I probably do it way too much (I really should learn to stop living in the past, but anyway).  In honor of "Throwback Thursday" (even though it's Sunday), I am choosing to recall some experiences from one of the most amazing times of my life.  In mid-August of 2013, I was just returning from a trip to Tortuguero, Costa Rica.  My classmates and I were there for about a week and a half serving as eco-volunteers for the Sea Turtle Conservancy.  Although our time there was very short compared to the seasonal researchers, I definitely took home some valuable lessons and memories.  Let me elaborate a little bit.

#1- Taking off in a plane was WAY better than any roller coaster I had ever been on

Okay so, NO ONE EVER TOLD ME HOW MUCH FUN RIDING IN A PLANE IS!! Well, the taking-off part at least.  Prior to this trip I had never been on anything bigger than a 4-seater, and that was once.  This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.  I just couldn't understand why my fellow passengers weren't as excited as I was, I mean c'mon!

I'm sure you can guess which person is supposed to represent yours truly.

 

 

The landing part, not so much.  That experience can make a non-religious person start spurting out every verse from the Bible within a 5 second period.  It started out smooth (it always does...) and when the plane started slowing down, the pilot slammed on the breaks so hard I'm pretty sure my body almost traveled into a different time zone.  Thank goodness for seat belts.

WHEN DOES IT STOPPPPPPPPP

 

 

#2- Surviving the Jungles of Tortuguero (Part 1)

 

A view from my bed on the hottest day of the week.  That little fan was my Saving Grace.

 

Okay, so I'm not usually one to complain.  Especially since we were only there for a little over a week and the wildlife was absolutely incredible (and we'll get to that later), but holy crap.  The bugs and the sun in Central America are no joke.  Since it is a third world country and we were in a small village in the middle of nowhere, we were living minimally.  That means:  no A/C, a shared room with 5 other people (reminds me of freshman year ahh), and no escape from the bugs.  Literally no escape.  Our cabin/dorm walls were not attached to the ceiling, so whatever wanted to creep and crawl inside could easily do it.  Aside from the cute little house geckos that peeped during the night, I was a little disturbed when thinking about what could possibly crawl over my face at night (I had heard stories of scorpions and spiders, among other things *shivers*)  It didn't help that I found THIS THING hanging out over top of my bunk the VERY FIRST NIGHT.

 

Hello, human.  What a comfy-looking bed you have there!

 

Alright.  We've got the bugs and heat part out of the way.  Now lets talk about the noises.  Ever wake up to the sound of a rooster calling?  Try various species of birds (including toucans) and howler monkeys.  Never heard a howler monkey, you say?  Click on this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYtoz-t-bbY).  You're welcome.  And if you're REALLY lucky, you wake to the sounds of your annoying classmate (named Andy) flapping his trap when you've just fallen asleep after walking the beach from 12am-4am searching for sea turtles.  Love you, Andy ;)

 

Surviving the Jungles of Tortuguero (Part 2)

Lets talk turtles!  The whole reason we were there in the first place was to help the current summer researchers and to learn, learn, learn!  As eco-volunteers, we would walk the beaches at night from either 8pm-12am or 12am-4am.  We also did a morning track shift as well where we would mark tracks/nests from the night before.  For the night shift, our duty was to measure turtles, count eggs, note their current physical condition (i.e. barnacles, disease, etc.), and to tag them (that was a researcher duty).  We would separate into two groups and briskly walk (or sometimes run) the Boca section, or the Park section.  Adjusting your eyes to the lack of light took several minutes, but the stars were normally out which reflected off of the ocean.  You could see a small glow on the waves created by the bioluminescent plankton.  The sound of the waves crashing on the shoreline along with the beautiful sights made those 4 hours go by pretty fast.  Sure, it was tiring and I tripped over random objects several times throughout the night and my legs were chaffed, but the turtles were well worth it. 

A photo taken by the talented Ralph Pace.

The turtles we were after were mainly green sea turtles (Tortuga verde, or Chelonia mydas).  For those of you that may not know, green sea turtles are the second largest next to the leatherbacks.  Greens can get over 500lbs and their shells can measure over 5ft sometimes.  Which brings me to my next point...getting slapped in the face from an animal that size isn't fun.  I can't tell you how many times I was almost blinded every time I tried to measure a turtle's carapace (the top of their shell).  It didn't matter how many times I was warned or whatever position I tried to place myself in...I would either get dragged down into her pit every time she swooped her big fins, get a face full of sand, or a butt crack full of sand (or all of the above).  I was doing all of this while trying to get an accurate measurement, not get bitten by her ridiculously strong jaws, not piss her off/scare her away, and not make the researchers get angry with me.  Did I mention that sea turtles love building their nests in nearly inaccessible areas covered with brush and ant hills?  These aren't just ANY ant hills.  These are badass, Costa Rican, human flesh-eating ants.  Talk about stressful.  Not as stressful as tagging turtles/supervising idiotic volunteers (aka me), but stressful.

 

How we returned to our bunks every night.

Surviving the Jungles of Tortuguero (Part 3)

 

Lets talk about our night hike!  You know those episodes on the Discovery Channel where you see people like Jeff Corwin trekking through the jungle in search of highly venomous and exotic animals?  That was a reality for us.

Here you see little me (in blue) protecting my friend, Andy, from snakes, spiders, and poisonous frogs.

 

 

I will admit that not every person was a fan of this hike.  It was really dark, wet, muddy, humid, hot as the devil's butt crack, and the bugs were having the biggest fiesta of their lives.  Not to mention we were wearing uncomfortable boots that put huge blisters on our feet.  However, we saw some of the coolest animals that I've only dreamed of being able to see in person!  We saw multiple species of frogs, pseudo-scorpions, actual scorpions, tarantulas (among other species of arachnids), snakes, etc.  Overall, it was an awesome experience! (and we survived).

 

Here I am with a baby cat-eyed snake.  I cropped out my face because I look D-I-S-G-U-S-T-ing.

 



#3- The lesson of the turtle

If what I mentioned previously didn't already scare you away from ever visiting Costa Rica, here are a few other things that I learned while in this unique and wonderous place:

 

1)  People steal (this is not to pick on the person it happened to).  The locals are friendly, but they can be TOO friendly at times, so pay attention to your things.

 

2)  The FOOD WAS SO GOOD.  Their coffee and pineapple is the bomb diggity.  They also use pure, unprocessed food so you don't feel like absolute crap after eating it.

 

3)  The wildlife/scenery is incredible.  I could write an entire blog on this topic alone (maybe later?) ;)

 

4)  The people are passionate and real.  A lot of them have nothing and they still manage to get along with their lives just fine and seem very happy with it.  Also, my classmates and teacher are some of the coolest and most inspiring people I've ever met.  Just saying.

Our class before whitewater rafting on the Sarapiqui river!

 

 

5)  The biggest lesson of all...the reason I do what I do.



The biggest lesson I learned on this trip, aside from learning to adapt to a place very much out of my comfort zone, was to always remember the lesson of the turtle.  To never forget why I became a conservation biologist in the first place.  To never forget what originally instilled my passion for marine life...sea turtles.

 

Holding the critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmocheyls imbricata) 

 

I have one last story and then I promise I'll shut up.

 

#4- Meeting Viernes

 

For those of you that do not speak Spanish, "Viernes" is the Spanish word for "Friday".  I named her Friday because that was our last day in Tortuguero and my last chance to count eggs.  All week I had heard stories from my fellow classmates about their egg counting experiences and how incredible it was.  Even though I was delighted to see their joy, I wanted nothing more than to have that same experience.  To count eggs, you have to catch a female turtle in the right stage of her nest building.  You also have to be careful not to scare her away (they can be very skiddish at times).  The only time we would count eggs would be during the 12am-4am shift.  That Friday, I was supposed to walk the morning track shift, which meant if I chose to do the 12am-4am shift, I wouldn't be able to sleep until the next day.  Did I give up my precious sleep in order to have the chance at counting eggs?  You bet your sweet fanny I did.  It was truly a magical moment.  Not to get cheesy, but the situation was perfect.  We found a female who had just finished digging her pit and was beginning to go into her "daze" before laying.  We carefully and silently made our preparations.  I slipped on my gloves, climbed in behind her with a tally counter, and patiently waited.  She laid 160 precious eggs in my hands, the most eggs out of any turtle that week.  I might have cried just a smidgen.   (SEA TURTLES MAKE ME EMOTIONAL, OKAY???)  I cried the first time I saw a nest boil, too.  Just knowing that I played a part in protecting this species made me all gooey inside.  Nothing can ever replace what I experienced in that moment and at that place.  Normally I would end this novel that I just wrote with something like..."I waved goodbye to Viernes as she pulled her heavy body back into the sea.  Would I EVER SEE HER AGAIN?  WOULD HER HATCHLINGS EVER FEEL THE WRATH OF THE SEA AND LAY EGGS OF THEIR OWN??"...but that's WAY too dramatic and deep for me, so instead I'll just end with this picture.  Until next time guys!

Looking good, Tyler ;)





What I learned from my animal training internship...

This past summer was definitely one of the most amazing experiences that I've ever had (and I've done some pretty cool stuff).  I could probably write an entire book about it, but I'll spare you guys (for now).  Instead, I'll just share some of the moments that stood out the most (along with the big lessons that I learned from both my co-workers and the animals).

For those of you that may not know, I am an aspiring marine animal trainer (along with 120348210348123491284301392Q@$@#$!$)I* other people).  This past summer was my first time actually working hands-on with marine mammals.  Although it was a time filled with ups and downs, it undoubtedly reinforced my desire to pursue this path, no matter how difficult and long.  Now, moving on from the sappy/inspirational stuff, lets recall my summer:

Lesson # 1:   My body moves faster than my brain sometimes

I'll never forget the first couple of weeks at my internship.  I was SO STINKING EXCITED to be working in a new place with FREAKIN' DOLPHINS that I could hardly contain myself.  I honestly don't remember the last time I was THAT pumped about ANYTHING.  Below is a pretty accurate depiction of how my face looked the first time I touched a dolphin:

OH EM GEE DOLF-ANS!!!!

 

Whenever the trainers asked me to help them with ANYTHING, I was usually quick to oblige...perhaps a little too quick.  There is such a thing as being overly eager and although I had good intentions (to help out, of course), I normally ended up busting my butt, slicing a finger, bumping my head against random objects, and last but not least, slipping off a bridge into one of our dolphin habitats.  No wonder I was awarded with "Most Likely To Fall" on our last day.  Alas, although I am probably now known as the "accident-prone intern that doesn't stop talking", I do have some pretty funny memories.  Lesson I learned:  let my brain work before my body aka CHILL THE HECK OUT.

 

 

Lesson #2:  You can stuff more than you think you can...

 

That's what she said.

 

Alright, so before the dirty jokes and sexual innuendos begin, let me explain.  Even though I had some experience stuffing fish prior to this internship, you would have never guessed it prior to this moment.  The first time I was asked to place a few vitamins inside some capelin (small fish), you would think that I was just asked to solve world hunger.  I SLOWLY and CAREFULLY placed an individual pill into one fish at a time.  Not only did it take me forever because I kept dropping stuff all over the place, but I couldn't figure out which orifice to place the pill in (SO MANY CHOICES! The anus, the mouth, the gills, TOO MANY DECISIONS!)  By the time I had prepared my 1 med fish, everyone was standing around their buckets waiting for me.  Luckily, my mentor had a good sense of humor and showed me the "proper" way of stuffing aka just shove as many as you can into a tiny capelin and move on.  Lesson I learned:  there is such a thing as paying TOO much attention to detail.

 

Lesson #3:  Dolphins aren't really intimidating...until you have their full attention

 

I'll never forget the first time I had a training session with a dolphin.  My mentor just handed me the fish bucket and just said "here ya go" like it was nothing.  It was finally time to spread my wings and apply everything that I had learned up until that point to an actual training session.  It shouldn't be hard, right?  All I had to do was ask for some simple hand targets and reinforce accordingly, all while being watched by both experienced trainers and your animal.  "Ask her for a hand target."....It was like all common sense and training knowledge had suddenly vanished.

 

This looks about right.

 

When I finally did come back to planet Earth, my hand signals made it seem like I was trying to do some alien robotic dance.  I'm also pretty sure that what I was trying to tell my animal and what my mentor was telling me to do were completely opposite.  I'm thankful that both my mentor and my dolphin were in a patient mood that day. 

 

I have no clue what she's doing. 

 

Lesson I learned:  it's okay to make mistakes.  Be confident!

 

Lesson #4:  Dolphins are awesome, but so are penguins...and seals...and sea lions...and otters

 

The facility I interned at currently houses only one species of marine mammal, which are the dolphins.  At one point during the summer, some of us got the chance to visit other facilities that housed all kinds of marine animals including, but not limited to:  California sea lions, harbor seals, African black-footed penguins, Asian small-clawed otters, etc.  Getting a chance to learn about them and how they're trained was one of the coolest parts of my summer!  Everyone always gets so hyped up about dolphins and whales.  Dolphins and whales are amazing animals, but one lesson that I learned from this summer is that other "less popular" species are just as cool (if not cooler, haha...penguin joke).  I know now that I want to work at a facility that has a variety of critters because you can benefit from those experiences just as much as you can working with the more "popular species".  Also, did I mention HOW STINKIN' CUTE ASIAN SMALL-CLAWED OTTERS ARE??!!  Lesson I learned:  don't be too picky.

 

Love me, or else.

Lesson #5:  Patience

 

Probably one of the most valuable things I learned (and I'm still learning), is to be patient.  In my case, it's waiting for a full-time job.  Sometimes, even when you make a good impression and work your very hardest, life doesn't always go by your plans.  The marine mammal field is probably one of the most competitive fields out there and it is a cut-throat industry.  On top of that, doing one internship doesn't always guarantee a job (in fact, most of the time it doesn't).  That's not to say that getting a job in this field doesn't involve networking and working hard, but I've learned that a lot of it has to do with timing and persistence.  It's important to keep your chin up and keep pushing!  If your heart is in it than it will all pay off in the end (that's what I tell myself, anyway).  I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the experiences that I've had working with animals and I'm beyond excited to do it again one day!  Lesson I learned:  keep my eyes on the prize and stay positive.  (Sappy spiel over).  Until next time guys!

The Porpoise Of This Blog...

Welp, I finally did it.  I finally began a blog.  I officially have no life (...just kidding).  I suppose I should start by telling you a little bit about myself.  Here is a list of my favorite things:

 

 

1)  Coffee

 

2) Animals

 

3) My friends/family

 

4) Outdoor adventures

 

5) Witty puns

 

 

I debated starting a blog for quite a while because I was afraid of the following: 

 

1) People being interested enough to read it

 

2) My friends potentially calling me a copy-cat (some mutual friends have made similar blogs)

 

3) My willingness to actually keep up with it

Actually, I just wanted to post a picture of a unicorn-shaped cloud.

...and then, suddenly, a sign appeared from the heavens and it finally made sense to me.  I'm going to stop worrying about what others think and do what I want to do, which is share my life experiences, my hopes and dreams, and the lessons that I've learned along the way with whomever would like to hear.  Now journey on, my friends, as we ride together through the Mists of Avalon upon our noble steeds.

 

 

This blog was partially inspired by other similar marine mammal blogs, one of them being themiddleflipper.blogspot.com.  If you aren't already following her, for shame.