Friday, August 7, 2009

Whale Watch

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. During the period of this class I've learned a lot of this city and state for that matter. Our day started out in front of the statue of General Hooker. At this site we were briefed by professor Berman on what was going to happen in the next hour or so. We then entered Capitol Hill. The next thing I know we were in one of those fancy rooms with a lot of smart people you only see on channels like CNN and NBC. We were witnessing Professor Berman stating his support for keeping the Boston Harbor a protected area by the state. After a brief stop in Capitol Hill we were instructed to head towards the Marina where we were going to catch the 12:30 whale watch expedition. Once on the boat, it took us approximately an hour to reach the whale site. On our way out professor Berman pointed out a Tuna Bird. He told us that this bird vommits on anything that threatens their breeding grounds. We finally arrived at ground zero; and I had never been out in the ocean that far away from land. The only thing visible to us were the other vessels around us and the tip of Cape Cod in the distance. And there it was, what we had come for. A whale that seemed to love the attention it was getting by the visitors and their cameras. To be honest it was a majestic sight, it was amazing to be so close to an animal that size. In that hour I learned a lot about whales. For example, I was unaware that whales never sleep because they would drown. Instead they have the ability of shutting down half their brain at a time to get the adecaute rest. I learned that Hump Back Whales can hold their breath for half hour, and when they dive after regaining their breath or filling their lungs with oxygen (note: with each breath exchange, whales have the ability to exchange 90% of lung capacity. Humans only 15%.) the bubbles they leave behind are known as fluke print. However, the most uplifting news of the day was learning about the Whales and Dolphin Conservation Society, wich is an organization that advocates the protection of these beautiful animals. I will be logging on to their website, www.wdcs.org, to download that form and sign it. I will pass it on to all my friends as well. After an hour there, we were on our way back to Boston.

rnorris@bu.edu

No comments: