So it’s official: I started my real internship today at Save Our Seas (SOS). I had a meeting this morning with Meg Ledeboer, the woman who will be my supervisor for the duration of my time at the shark research center. SOS is located in Kalk Bay, which is a beautiful little seaside town with a working fishing harbor and lots of little shops and cafes. It is about a 35 minute ride on the train, but the view is amazing- the last 10 or so stops are right along the beach and I have a full view of the sea (as long as the train’s not too crowded :).
Vanessa, my internship coordinator, picked me up this morning at 9 am and drove me there just to help me become familiar with the area before having to take the train alone. Vanessa actually knows Meg from her time at the University of Cape Town; Meg was head of the zoology department, and Vanessa studied zoology. I can’t believe how lucky I was to get to know Vanessa, as she is responsible for connecting me with both Steve and now the people at Save Our Seas. I owe her big time.
Anyway, the meeting went very well and it sounds like there will be plenty of opportunities for me to get involved in different areas. They are hoping to expand and improve the area of SOS where the public can come in and browse, so they were hoping I would have some ideas about particular wall presentations and how to make the center more kid-friendly and educational. I will also be involved with some of the teaching of the school groups, and next week happens to be Marine Week, so there will be 60-70 kids coming to SOS every day. The man who runs the school program is named Paul, and he said he’d be happy to have someone else along to teach and help with all the kids. They do shore investigations, where they take the kids out in front of SOS when the tide is low and explore the various organisms that live in the five different zones: Littorina, Upper Balanoid, Lower Balanoid, Cochlear and Infratidal. They also take field trips out to Cape Point where they do a nature/marine walk and lecture for the kids. These trips are usually followed up by a video and short discussion about shark characteristics, safety and conservation back at SOS. All of that should be a lot of fun, and will definitely help me learn very quickly.
The last thing I’ll be doing, which I am so excited about, is joining Alison Kock, the primary White shark biologist at SOS, to head out on the boat to do some field research and see what working with White sharks is all about. Since Alison is in between research projects, I won’t be out with her every week, but hopefully I can get more involved in this over the next month. I can’t wait to experience this and hopefully contribute to their work in the field.
So that was today… yesterday was an absolutely amazing day as well. Steve, Vanessa and myself organized a VAC intern trip to Hout Bay with Steve’s boat, Animal Ocean, and not only did we dive with Cape Fur seals again, but we came upon a pod of Dusky dolphins that were incredibly playful. They stuck around our boat for over 15 minutes and when we all hopped in to dive with them they began darting around us and swimming alongside. Steve handed me his underwater video camera and I was able to take some pretty good footage of 10 or so different dolphins- it was an experience none of us will EVER forget. Here is a frame from the video footage I took:
This is a picture taken the same day by Evert Nel, one of Steve’s friends who is an amazing wildlife photographer:
From the crazy crowded minibus adventure getting eight of us out to Hout Bay, to the wild bumpy ride home in the waves, it was definitely one of the best days I’ve had yet in South Africa, if not ever. I can’t wait to get out again and see what else is out there!
This is a picture from a few days ago, when Steve took me out for my first Sevengill Cowshark dive. We were at a site called Miller's Point, which is on the way out to Cape Point. It is a gorgeous area for a shore dive, full of kelp and fish and these guys (it doesn't look very big in this photo, but it was probably about two meters long):
Here is a better photo (again taken by Evert Nel) to show how long they can get relative to a human:
I absolutely love this photo! They are amazing sharks- they have the most primitive skeletal structure of any shark and can be identified as individuals by the pattern of spots on their back. SOS is actually doing a Photo ID research project to try to identify individuals living in False Bay. The main researcher's name is Robert Raw, and his paper on the ID project is really interesting. The project is still being developed, and they are encouraging anyone who dives with the Cowsharks to take photos from above and submit them to SOS to increase their database. So, come dive with the sharks with Animal Ocean and you can be part of a really cool shark conservation project :)
Alright, so for now, I am going to do my best to settle in at SOS, and when research and projects and everything else gets underway I will surely update my blog with the latest events. Thanks to everyone who is keeping up with me, and feel free to e-mail or comment here, as I love hearing from anyone and everyone! I will leave you with this adorable picture of my friend Lydia, who is from the UK, squeezing into her 9 mm wetsuit!
Love you and your adventures! Keep posting!
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