One Month In

I cannot believe it has already been a month! I love it so much here in Atlanta and I'm sad to realize that a month has already come and gone. I hate thinking about leaving even though I still have another few months, it just doesn't seem long enough... Weekends go by fast with weeks going by even faster. My 5 days at the aquarium each week go by in the blink of an eye.

 

This past week has been pretty good. We're being able to do more and more with each passing week. We've been able to do some SD's ( an SD is basically a hand signal that is added in when you are teaching a behavior), help feed out their diet, and choose some of what to do during a session. I've been learning a lot about how training is done, from the beginning of a behavior to the end of one and what exactly all the terminology means. I've read the book "Dont Shoot The Dog", which is a training book and helps explain training and different terms. It helped put perspective on training and also helped me understand more, but being able to see everything put into action makes it make that much more sense and its more fun!

 

I've also come to the conclusion that I think I would much rather work at Georgia Aquarium then end up at SeaWorld. I've truly fallen in love with this place and I could see myself working there. I've also realized that as much as I have wanted to work with dolphins since I was little that they are starting to lose more and more space in my heart. Beluga's just have so much personality and it makes training them, working with them and even working around them fun! I can't see how I could love working with dolphins more than Beluga's. Although I feel that way, I wouldn't ever say "I don't want to work with them" because I would, but I know that working with them is NOT where I want to end up.

 

I took some pictures of the Beluga's from above the water... I hope you enjoy as much as I do :)

 

This is Qinu. She's a 4 year old female beluga, the youngest at the Georgia Aquarium and my absolute favorite. To me, she's got the most personality and seems to be the most curious and everything.

 

 

This is Beethoven. He is the largest male at Georgia Aquarium being about 13 feet long and 1700lbs. He is my second favorite because he's very smart and seems to listen to the trainers the most and also has an extensive behavior background.

 

 

This is Grayson. He is a 5 year old male. He is a little special and takes a while to learn behaviors but he's still cute!

 

 

Last but not least, Maris. The oldest female at 11 feet long (the top whale above Beethoven). She was a mother last May but lost the calf a few days after being bored. She's very skittish but still very smart.