Today was our first day in the field, and after rising
at a very reasonable hour, we headed out. We cleaned
off the boat, jumped in, and the plan was to sail out
to the ocean to see what the conditions were like, and
if they were, we were planning on spending the day
with the dolphins. The water conditions here have been
quite unpredictable, and we want to make sure we get
enough time with the dolphins! The water conditions
were not that great, so we headed into Elkhorn Slough
to spend the day training on our observations with the
sea otters. We found a great spot, anchored, and began
training. We learned that otters have to eat 40% of
their body weight daily, so a lot fo their time is
spent foraging. We documented their foraging, and of
course, ooh'd and aah'd about how cute they are!
Daniella informed us that even though they were cute -
these little guys can be vicious in their mating
habits, which was quite shocking! Two of the
volunteers and I had been documenting one certain
otter for quite awhile, and we really got the hang of
it! It was a very cool day to learn, and Daniella,
Cyndi & Mark have been really patient with us. After
heading home, we warmed up with some tea, had some
dinner, did data entry & reviewed our day. It was a
great one!

Kendall Melton, Team 6