 |
| Marilyn teaching Carol Tatting |
Yesterday the most exciting event was that a neighboring
boater taught me how to do “needle tatting” – which I never thought I would do,
but Grandma McFetridge would be proud.
With that highlight, we decided to combine two days of excitement into
one blog and today made up for yesterdays quiet.
 |
| A dolphin playing splash with a visitor |
We spent most of the day at the Dolphin Research Center on
Grassy Key. It was a very interesting
place, a good-sized land park and large fenced lagoons for the many dolphins
and sea lions that live there. Wide
boardwalks allowed visitors to get up close and watch the dolphins at
leisure. Fortunately, the dolphins also
like to watch the people so they were willing to come in close. It is said that they enjoy listening to
singing so I tried whistling and that seemed to keep them nearby for quite
awhile.
Several visitors signed up to get in the water and play with
the dolphins so we all got to watch their antics. The people followed instructions almost as
well as the dolphins.
 |
| A dolphin back dive, maybe a 9.6 |
One lagoon held mothers and dolphin calves of about 3 months
old. The young ones stay with their
mothers for anywhere from 1-6 years. The
researchers pointed out that there are many different “parenting styles” among
the females and they make use of grandparents and dolphin baby-sitters within
the family.
Other research has proven that dolphins have mathematical
abilities and are able to differentiate between smaller and larger numbers of
objects – being rewarded when they choose the lesser amount, they become quite
accurate. YouTube Link: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A226SlCQQsA)
They can also pick out “which
of these objects is not like the others?” and which one of several objects
match the main object. It was
fascinating seeing their capabilities and the patience of the trainers.
There were rain showers a couple of times today, so the
slightly cooler temperatures made standing outside all day, very pleasant.
 |
| Quite Social |
 |
| A visitor special encounter session |
 |
| High speed swimming |
No comments:
Post a Comment