Dive Into Your Imagination

This has been a sad week interning at Mote's Dolphin and Whale Hospital.

During my shift on Sunday, November 23, "Pete," the pygmy killer whale, passed away. Mote has been caring for Pete since he was found stranded in June, and we had hoped to rehabilitate the dolphin and release him back to the wild. Initial exams and tests have shown that a chronic infection contributed to his death.

When I was growing up, my family took annual vacations to Siesta Key, FL. Every evening I joined my brother, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins along the beach to collect shells and admire the beautiful sunset. But I was addicted to the water, and every evening while everyone walked, I would splash around and drench my clothes with ocean.

I have a vivid memory of one evening in particular, when my dad and I showed up at sunset with our bathing suits on, ready to get wet! My dad swam much faster than I could, so I would put my arms around his neck as he darted between the waves with me across his back. I liked to imagine that I was riding a dolphin!

It has been a busy week at the hospital!

On Sunday, Cody, the green sea turtle, underwent laser surgery to remove his fibropapilloma tumors. It was quite an experience to assist with a surgery on a sea turtle!

First, we sedated Cody and took X-rays to determine whether the sea turtle had any internal tumors. Because internal tumors are extremely difficult to remove and the possibility would remain that they would grow back, current veterinary guidelines call for euthanizing the animals that suffer from this condition. I'm happy to report that Dr. Manire found no evidence of these with Cody, so the surgery stayed on schedule!

Sea Turtle Hospital
Mote Marine Lab's dolphin and whale hospital also cares for sick and injured sea turtles! Currently, I am working with three turtles that either have, or are recovering from, a condition called Fibropapillomatosis. Whoa! That's a mouthful! Let's break down the word to find out about the disease:

Bottlenose dolphins taught me so much about life, my cameras and the ocean. Nine years ago I sold my car and bought my underwater video camera housing and went to work on a live aboard dive boat, Peter Hughes Wave Dancer in Belize. It took me three months before I was comfortable enough working on the boat to pull out my video system and use it because I did not want to flood it and I had never shot video before in my life. There was not a lot of published material on how to shoot underwater video, so it was a lot of trial and error. In January 2000 I had the greatest gift underwater when I dived with wild bottlenose dolphins for the first time in my life at Lighthouse Reef in Belize.