A whale of a tale...

We came into the nature center this morning to many phone calls letting us know there was a dead whale on the beach, just to the north of the Inn. We were sad to hear the news but excited to be able to see such an incredible creature up close! We expected to find a Right Whale, who calve off the coasts of Florida and Georgia from December to March. But, a look at the long white pectoral fin revealed that it was a Humpback whale, and size revealed it was a juvenile.It was actually laying on it's back, so this photo is the underneath of its mouth.

Florida Fish and Wildlife has a marine mammal stranding number, which should be called as soon as any distressed or dead ones are found. They had been notified in the early morning, but we called them back to warn them that it was about to be taken away by the tide. Luckily they got there in time to put a rope around it's fluke (tail), but it took a bunch of people holding the rope to hold onto the whale, which weighed about 10-20 tons!

Luckily we were able to hang onto it until we could get it attached to a wench on the front of the FWC truck, which was able to hold it until the tide retreated. Then, a backhoe was brought it to drag the whale up the beach to the front of the dunes. People from NOAA, FWC, Marine Mammal Stranding Team (from Volusia county), Marineland and the Jacksonville zoo were led by the University of Florida's Aquatic Animal Health veterinarian and vet students in performing and in-depth necropsy of the whale. Most had not seen a humpback whale before, it's pretty rare for large whales to wash up on our beaches.

The team first took measurements and photos of the whale, it was 814 cm long (26.7 feet) and they estimated it to be about five years old. Humpback whales reach their mature length of 53 feet or more around age 12. They then performed the necropsy by taking the whale apart, piece by piece, noting any abnormality and taking tissue samples for further study back at the lab. Afterwards, the carcass was buried on the beach. It was gross but fascinating to watch the whole thing! All of my photos can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37828474@N03/sets/72157617320198921/ Warning: some are pretty graphic and may gross you out!

The whale had been dead for a couple of days, and they could not determine a cause of death at the time, but as soon as they find anything out, we will post it on the blog! Even if they aren't able to figure out what happened, they will gain knowledge from this whale, and eventually (after they stop stinking, hopefully!) we will have some of the bones on display at the nature center for everyone to see and learn from.

What are YOU looking at??

What has a cormorant gotta do to be left alone around here?? I was simply trying to enjoy a nice morning by the pool when three people came after me, two with long pool sticks and one with a net. Then I take a dip in the pool, and they wouldn't leave me alone in there either! So, finally I left the pool and tried to fly away, but for some reason my wings aren't working too well, and my feet are much better at swimming than running. I tried to hide from them under the stairs, but then they trapped me! The nerve! And, all this in front of all the guests at the Inn. You can imagine the type of mood it put me in...

At least I got one bite in to teach that girl with the net a lesson! Putting me in a carrier - oh well at least now I'm at a rescue with nice people who are taking good care of me and helping me get better. Hopefully I'll be back out soon, and this time I'm staying away from that pool!

Earth Day Celebrations!

We have been celebrating Earth Day by offering free activities each day this week! On Monday we learned about turtles, Tuesday we learned about water conservation by making water cycle bracelets, Thursday we are having a beach cleanup and Friday playing games to learn about marine animals. And, today we made bird feeders out of recycled materials and also met a couple of mother Earth's most adorable gifts! This is a baby red-shouldered hawk and barred owl (who I really wanted to cuddle with!) Hope you had a great Earth Day, too, and continue to be good to the planet all year long!

Spring means...babies!

Yesterday AIP management was investigating a sound that was keeping guests in one of our condos up at night...a scratching...a ghost?? Nope, just a mama raccoon with her three tiny babies! Unfortunately, the babies were found after they cut a hole in the ceiling to locate the problem...and these three fell down...nest and all! Which meant I was substitute coon mama for the night, until I dropped them off for the Wildlife Rescue Coalition in nearby Jacksonville to take care of them. It's best for wild animal babies to be left with their real moms, we only take them if we feel they are hurt or unable to be successfully reunited with their wild moms. They are very cute, but alot of work and definately would NOT make good pets! Hopefully they will be able to be returned to the wild once grown, and will find somewhere better than an attic to have their own young!

Stop!..Turtle time!

A couple of weeks ago we released Lucy, a yellow-bellied slider that was brought into the nature center by a retail employee last April. She grew so fast! We loved having her for everyone to see, but she was big enough to make it on her own, and needed bigger digs! So we released her in the pond behind the nature center, where you can come and see her and even feed her some turtle food!

Our new additions are Tuck (above), a yellow-bellied slider, and Buck (below) a Florida Cooter. It's hard to believe Lucy was that small less than a year ago!

Birds of Amelia Tour

Andy the anhinga (see previous posts for his story) was told to show up for our "Birds of Amelia" tours to thank us for saving his life. So far, he has been good on his word. Every time we go looking for him he shows up! We are so excited that he is doing well! Here he is on our last outing drying out his wings after a fishing trip.

On the same outing, we were lucky enough to see a red-shouldered hawk fly into some vines on a tree and snag a green snake! He flew off with it hanging down. Not a good day for the snake, but it was interesting to watch!