Gulf World Marine Park...week one!

There is really only one word to describe this internship...awesome!!! I'm working very closely with the vet and with bottlenose dolphins, the ONLY collection in Florida of rough-toothed dolphins in human care, snakes, other reptiles, birds, dogs and cats (YES furry pets are there too!), sea lions, turtles, sting rays, and a whole lot more :) I am SO thankful I got this internship!

The vet is letting me use all her medical books to read up on basically everything to do with marine mammals. I'm starting out with gross and micro anatomy, as well as clin path of seals, sea lions, dolphins, manatees, and other marine mammals. Reading up on some clin path should also help me get a little bit ahead of the game for second year!

OH and I kissed a sea lion today! I've been wanting to do that since I started my internship at the Navy last summer hahah. I felt her little whiskers on my face. Gaahh so cute. I love sea lions! :)

So other than the internship, I am loving where I live. My room mate is awesome and the condo is perfect for what I need. I have a big room with two closets, my own bathroom, TV with cable (haven't had cable in over a year..it is NICE!), and fully equipped kitchen with washer and dryer, all for 300$ a month!! I'm sure those are things that everyone would say "no big deal" to, but if I hadn't gotten this condo, I'd be in a 1200$/month apartment with NO furniture or kitchen supplies, no washer/dryer or TV. And it would suck. Literally the ONLY thing missing this summer is Rhyley :( It's really sad to go to sleep without her, I feel so lonely at night! But I know it really is better for her because I work 10-11 hour days and she just would have to sit at home alone all day. Plus she is having tons of fun with her grandma! Anyway, I live 3 minutes from the beautiful Gulf of Mexico (which I am going to go enjoy this weekend) and there's a lot to do around here. Mostly tourist stuff but at least it's something hahah. Alright, I've bored you enough. Off to read and relax! But not without a picture of a rough-toothed dolphin first (kind of in love with these babes)!

Happy is an understatement :)

I have been horrible at posting this semester, but so many exciting things have been happening that blogging hasn't really been on my mind. I figured it was time for an update though, because today was AWESOME! :)

I received an internship offer at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City, FL! I feel bad to turn down the internship at the marine mammal care center, but this was the internship that I wanted the most out of the five that I applied to so I HAVE to choose this one. I'm really still a little in shock that I got it! I will learn basic marine mammal health care, as well as do a project. I'll also get to do something called "vet camp" once a week where I can teach kids about basic anatomy, do ultrasound demos, and help the kids work through "diagnosing" animals. Gulf World also helps with dolphin and turtle strandings, so I should be able to help out with that too. I am so excited! The area is beautiful, and I'll only be a drive away from my family and friends, so excited about that :) I feel so blessed by God to have this opportunity!

 

On the topic of marine mammals, we finished dissecting the sea lion a few weeks ago and it was so cool! We explored the larynx, thorax, abdomen, and limbs. Their bones are so funny looking - the humerus and femur are really short compared to all of the other limb bones (and they have carpal/tarsal bones and phalanges very similar to ours!) It's pretty neat though how small differences can make them suitable for deep diving. I've gotten to dissect so many cool things this semester - we finished the pony, and we're now working on a mink in special interest anatomy and a HUGE calf in gross anatomy. I am loving the calf!!! For some reason I am way more excited to learn about cows than I was about horses, even though the horse was really cool.

No test this week means I have been taking it a little easy, but I do need to work on some reproductive physiology before I get too behind!