The first two weeks of February have been a week of arrivals of departures of personnel. February 1st brought the arrival of four new interns. The interns spent their first day on the Shark Warrior – a tourism cage diving vessel. We collect data on this boat once a week. On this day, 7 sharks amazed the tourists and Ocean Research staff for hours with their presence. One by one the interns entered the cage to observe the sharks underwater, while the other two interns continued to collect data. It is an experience that cannot properly be described in words but must be experienced.
All the sharks are amazing and each is different. The most interesting things I saw this week, other than the sharks feeding from underwater, was the shark breaching out of the water and playing with a banana peel floating at the surface of the water. Shortly after the arrival of interns, the two directors, Ryan and Enrico, departed for the International white shark symposium in
On days not on the boat, we are sitting on the cliffs and hills of
So it has been a whirlwind first week for everyone and it leaves you just wanting to get back out there. The adventure begins again tomorrow morning on the research vessel Cheetah to pursue our research on the marine mammals, seals, and sharks of
David Delaney, Ph.D. – Mossel Bay OCEANS Research intern
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