It’s been another super amazingly crazy two weeks at
America’s #1 aquarium. Last week, I was Haz’s only intern (my other fellow
intern, Will, was on vacation). One day, I got to feed the black tip and white
tip sharks. Now, I know I’ve posted videos of us feeding the shark rays, and
mentioned here or there about us feeding the other sharks, but this time I,
Jillian Keefer (me, myself, and I), got to feed these bad boys (and girls!) by
myself. Sorta. For the first 10ish minutes or so, it was just me and Haz
standing on this little docking station type thing at the top of the shark
tank. But then she asked me if I wanted to feed them, to which I said “yeah,
sure!” But in my head I was more like “IS THAT EVEN A QUESTION HECK YES I WANT
TO FEED THEM THIS IS SO COOL YOU DO THIS FOR A LIVING AND I’M JUST A LOWLY
INTEN BUT SWEET SISTER FRANCIS I WOULD LOVE TO." Next thing I knew I was feeding a couple of
mackerel to a few of the black tips and white tips. 
The rest of that week
involved me getting to help ‘catch’ or freshwater rays and bring them up to the
vet lab for their “check-up.” If you read my last post, you’ll remember that I
mentioned one of our vets is conducting research on our rays and the effects of
birth control on their reproductive habits. Well, after catching them and
bringing them to the lab, we were able to take some tissue samples that would
then be analyzed to provide Jolene with any necessary information. I honestly can’t
tell you what all they would tell her/what she found out, but it was so cool to
be a part of that and witness what they do. And may I just add, one of our
vets, is crazy good at sewing stitches on stingrays. Have you ever felt a
stingray? They’re super slick and their skin almost feels slimy, like a slick,
algae-covered rock in a creek. So I can only imagine how difficult it is to not
only hold onto the ray, but also sew up a couple stitches!
And now, a big,
happy announcement: THE STONEFISH HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING! Yes folks, I was also
able to help catch those lazy bums out of their tank as well. After having
practiced packaging details the day before they were being shipped, Haz and I
felt pretty darn prepared for these guys. And it was a good thing we practiced.
These fish were stored in individual plastic containers with holes drilled in
them, to allow air and water flow. Then both containers were placed in a giant
plastic bag (x3) that was filled with water. [FUN FACT: Stonefish can actually live outside/without
water for many hours. Do to their wild habitats being typically low-tidal
areas, they’re used to being exposed to dry land. Stonefish can hold water in
their gills for a long time! Long enough to last through low tide, and plus
some!] (I digress,..) THEN that trilled bagged job was inside a giant Styrofoam
box which was inside a giant cardboard box, in order to be shipped. These bad
boys were sent off to an aquarium in California! Adios, venomous fishes!
Last week has been found with new ways to remain just as
exciting. Tuesday brought a busy day filled with big-diet day (every fish gets
fed!), water changes and window washing, and moving an electric eel from one
tank to another. Now, I gotta say, THIS was exciting. The electric eel has been
transitioned into Haz’s care now, which means I have to be super extra careful
around that tank. This process was a lot more time consuming than any of the
other previous captures/movings I’ve helped with. That eel is incredibly
stubborn. To get him from his old tank to the transport container was the
hardest part of the challenge. When you’re at the top of the tank, you can’t
see ANYTHING in the water; partially because the surface is covered in lily
pads and duckweed, and also because he blends in really well with the logs and
stuff. So in order to get him into the transport, Haz and Scott stood at the
top while I communicated with them over the walkie talkie as to where he was
exactly in the tank. It might not sound too difficult, but it was a huge
challenge, and incredibly difficult. At one point, the water was so cloudy and
dirty because of all the debris being tossed around; I couldn’t even see him,
and I had a flashlight! Bless the people that stood there and watched this
entire thing go down. I was being asked a million questions: What’s in there?
What’s going on? Why are you trying to get the eel? Is he okay? Why is that
water so dirty? (I even had a little girl who was maybe 12 say something like
“I can’t even believe they would let an animal live in such disgusting water.
That’s gross.” Yeesh.) I even had a couple of people help me find him when I
lost track of him. But, due to my great use of details and obsession with
preciseness, Scott was able to scoop him right up into the net. Haz finally got
him into his transport container and we maneuvered him through to this new
home, where he is currently doing just fine!
On Thursday, I had a very
accomplished, eventful (and somewhat stressful) day. It started with me going in a little bit earlier than
Haz, as Thursdays are water sample days for our tanks. As I was collecting
water samples, I noticed that the sump on the tank that holds our lionfish was
CRAZY full, and almost overflowing. This is like the biggest red flag, because
it could mean a multitude of things; the pump isn’t working, a pipe is closed,
etc. Specifically, the filter bag had come OFF the tube it’s supposed to be
attached to, and gotten stuck in the pump intake in the sump (confused yet?). Logically, I
drained the sump some to get that water level down and remove the filter bag from
the tube. Called Haz to straighten things out to make sure everything stayed
steady, and all was well! Later that day I got to peel shrimp, help monitor our
shark ray Sunshine’s check-up, collect a tooth of a stingray (ask me to see it
sometime, it’s not what you would expect!), feed Scooter, one of our shark rays, all by myself (held
the tongs and all!), and move a new fish to one of the tanks I take care of,
only with the assistance of another biologist, Margaret.
Bonus-Side Material: I also want to take this moment to say a giant thank you to
all of the people who have had a giant impact on my life. The people who have
pushed me to give my best in everything that I do; whether it was a sport, a difficult class, a job, or being a leader in a club. I have had some of the greatest
role models and influences on my choices and decisions. You guys have been a
constant source of support and praise; you’ve been looking out for me, praying
for me, rooting me on, even when I didn’t know you were keeping an eye on me. I
have one of the absolute greatest sources of love from you all, and I don’t
know where I would be without your constant approval, support, and push to be
the best and not giving up on me when I’m struggling because you knew I could
do it. As I am constantly reminded how incredibly blessed I am to have and be
given so many unique opportunities, I am awestruck in the amount of people that
believe(d) in me. So, to you, THANKS SO MUCH. I wouldn't be anywhere near the person I am today, with the accomplishments I have made thus far, if it weren't for all of you. From my whole heart, I am
incredibly thankful for you!! :)
-Jill :)
-Jill :)
No comments:
Post a Comment