Month of April , 2007

What do turtles, far out at sea, get sick of? Parasites perhaps, or infections? Perhaps attacks by other animals? Yes, these certainly do make turtles sick, but at the Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre (the Centre for the Recovery of Wild Fauna) these are just a minority of the cases that they treat.

The work of marine research and conservation that many people think about is being active on sea, working in the environment that you are conserving. However, there is a lot of invaluable work that goes on behind the scenes. One place where this happens is in laboratories.

The Department of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Las Palmas granted Morganonline access to film and photograph a dolphin necropsy, performed as part of the training that the student veterinarians undergo. Permission is rarely granted by this prestigious institution, well known for its cetacean research, and the images will be used for a film about research on dolphins and whales.

For the second time this year we prepared ourselves for the task of filming a necropsy on a dolphin. In my case, this meant not only making sure that our photo cameras were ready and that I had a list of questions prepared, but that I was mentally prepared for what I would see, hear and smell.

I love balls. I especially love tennis balls, and even when I’m sleeping I always have one nearby. I had heard from reliable sources about a magical ball that keeps rolling and never stops. This I had to see! I had a rough idea where it was, so today I took Ernie and Jo for a walk to find it.

Rows of little girls dressed in the traditional cream mantillas (veils) of the Canary Islands; women in black with handmade lace veils – but in black – covering their hair; priests in purple and white robes; and two floats, one supporting a statue of Jesus Christ and the other supporting a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Morganonline was on radio and television in the Netherlands this week. Martin Volder from Omroep Brabant’s radio programme MV – Máákt je middag! (‘MV – Makes your afternoon!’) interviewed Joanna Bouma on 3 April. The interview was done by mobile telephone on board the Morgan, and covered Morganonline activities over the last two months. The seven minute interview can be heard on www.omroepbrabant.nl/podcast.aspx. The broadcast is in Dutch.

Twenty-one days after leaving Brest, France, we arrived safely in Las Palmas – capital of the Canary Islands – on 30 March 2007.

Oh no, it’s that time again! Every three months or so Ernie and Jo grab me, sit me down and pull all my hair out! This time their excuse was that the sailing trip from France to the Canary Islands where we are now is over, so I don’t need all my lovely long hair to keep me warm in the wind. Hhhmmm. Well, maybe they have a point …