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July 28th 2010
Published: July 28th 2010
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Here is the first of what should hopefully be many blogs from Monkey Mia. As I said in my previous post I will write as often as I can but it is completely dependent on weather. Good weather = more dolphin watching = less blogging. I already have way more written down than I'll include in this first one, but I thought I'd start at the beginning...arriving at Monkey Mia.

As for pictures, I'll do my best. I can post pictures from camp and the area that I take with my camera. I'll do that as often as I can but the internet connection is slow and the pics don't upload at a high quality. That being said a picture does say a thousand words (and I've heard from some these blogs run long sometimes 😊) I unfortunately can't post our amazing dolphin pics. National Geographic gets first dibs on those. I'm not even joking. My travel blog is slightly lower on the pecking order (no matter how much my mom tells me otherwise). Well here's my account of life as a dolphin research assistant.

June 9

Well I made it! Got to Monkey Mia a couple of hours ago. 10 hr bus ride up with Pinnacles Tours who allowed us to join their tour. It was nice to have commentary about the history & biology of WA for the whole way up. Between that and conversing with Dr. Connor & Whitney it seemed like a short trip.

Got to the resort/caravan park after dark. Threw our things in the caravan (trailer), grabbed a quick bite to eat and settled in a bit. No sense of direction yet. Talked with Dr. Connor and Whitney about dolphins, art, science, etc. I feel behind on my knowledge of cognition and cetacean research. I’m sure to learn a ton. Richard’s a real art buff too. Good thing I took a total of zero classes on the topic. Again something I’m sure I’ll learn about it the coming months.

The caravan is ‘rustic’ as described previously to me, but quite homey as well. Should work out fantastically. Routine will come soon. Everything is weather dependent. The whole situation seems unreal. Am I in Australia studying dolphin behaviour? Dr. Connor asked if it’s all overwhelming right now…You’re damned right it’s overwhelming! What have I gotten myself into?

On a whim I decided to apply for this off of the MARMAM (marine mammal) listserv. Never expected to hear back. Too many applicants for most of these jobs. Somehow I was chosen from the pile. Now I’m in a caravan park in the middle of nowhere Western Australia as a research assistant on a world renowned dolphin project. Should be interesting…

June 12

Getting settled in. Haven’t gone out yet though. Spent the first few days cleaning, organizing, familiarizing, preparing, & chatting. Supposed to go out today to get a sense of our boat’s handling. There’ll be plenty of time to get to know ‘Gene Machine’. Weather didn’t cooperate today. Try again tomorrow.

Attempted to clear up some young alliances from last year’s data. Exciting patterns did begin to emerge. We definitely know what to keep an eye out for at least. What at first seemed like a daunting list of over 120 male fins to learn is actually not too difficult. Beyond scarring there are obvious shape differences when looking closely. It’s fun to attempt to match fins to previously unknown or seldom focused on dolphins and try to tease out relationships. Work…but more analogous to attempting a puzzle than a chore. Despite trying to get over a minor illness it was the first of what is sure to be countless enjoyable days here at Monkey Mia. Haven’t even gone out and yet I can’t wipe the smile from my face.

June 15

Lying in bed after my second full day on the water. Still can’t believe I have the fortune of doing this for 3 months. First day out from 9-5. Not your typical day job. We scan the area (from the boat) with binoculars until groups or aggregations of dolphins appear. We are focused on the males, their alliances (‘friends’) and the females they are courting/consorting with.

Saw more dolphins today then I’ve even seen. Didn’t go more than an hour without finding another group. If they are interesting (they’re all interesting but to varying degrees to the study) we stay with them for an hour or more. Basically we are attempting to see which dolphins are still around and who they’re hanging out with. Fascinating relationships. I’ll write on that later when I’m not drained from a full day’s ‘work’.

Yesterday the wind was too strong to go out. Entered data. Organized pictures. Went into town (Denham ~25 km away) to buy sorely needed groceries. The Monkey Mia store doesn’t suffice for long. After a cruise around the Denham grocery store we have a pretty stocked kitchen.

Today’s foray into Shark Bay was even more spectacular than our first day out. Dolphins everywhere! Saw over 35 males including a group of 18 individuals. Oh ya, all the dolphins have names. Naming origins vary from movies to inside jokes to ? Some have been followed since the beginning of the study in 1982!

Our last group of the day (10 Blues Bros and 4 females) showed some particularly active behaviour with the occasional leap, rooster strut, chin slap, and many others. They are have what Dr. Connor calls ‘July thangs’…testing out things before the main mating season in a few months. Whatever you call it the results are entertaining. We were told before coming that in almost 30 years of studying these dolphins on and off Dr. Connor has never been bored…no kidding.

Tomorrow…wake up at 6:15, eat some breakfast, pack up the boat and hopefully do it all again. There are no typical days. I wouldn’t have it any other way.


That'll have to suffice for now. The next blog will come as soon as a couple rough weather days swing through (supposedly soon but the weather here is unpredictable). Now I need to catch some shut eye. Gotta be sharp for dolphin watching tomorrow.


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