He butted Ursula's camera and bulldozed her a full meter back. 57K JPEG |
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Last week's swell is just a memory--good riddance! Once the swell died down, we made our first dive at Reef 2. We were delighted by the number of honu, who seemed happy as we were to be free of the ocean rocking and rolling.
In fact, the honu were many in number and in magnanimous moods. The ocean was certainly cleaner as well. There was less Cladophora in the water and the Lyngbya had died back (or been ripped away).
So we went back to enjoying our time with the honu. It's not so clear whether they enjoyed their time with us.
Ursula videotaped a male scratching. Then he decided that she was too close and, head-down, he butted her camera and bulldozed her a full meter back. He even nipped her camera twice!
He butted Ursula's camera and bulldozed her a full meter back. 57K JPEG |
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The same turtle went for air and Ursula followed him up. She decided to videotape his flight down and all went well until the honu made a tight 180-turn and veered straight for her.
We call this "chin music" although he wasn't aiming for Ursula chin!
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We call this "chin music" although he wasn't aiming for Ursula chin! 51K JPEG |
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On all dives now, we keep sharp eyes out for turtle fecal pellets (turtle turds). When we spot them, we collect and bag these green lumps. We then send the "material" to George Balazs in Honolulu.
When we spot them, we collect and bag these green lumps. 55K JPEG |
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Then George sends them to Alaska! This really all does make sense. Trust us.
Speaking of George and Honolulu, we went to visit Hawaii's sea turtle expert this week to spend the day with him. We will report more thoroughly on our experiences at another time--when we have time!
For now, believing that a picture's worth a thousand words, here are three thousand!
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Peter (left) waits for George to help him back in the boat. Peter has a brilliant idea for a picture. He breaks into a huge grin and says, "Kilroy was here!" 48K JPEG |
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George successfully plucks Peter from Kaneohe Bay. Peter's delighted and says, "Best time I had all summer!" Guess so! Not everyday someone can say they had a private turtle tour with George Balazs! 46K JPEG |
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Seeing George on his home turf of Oahu is a highlight of Summer 2001. 50K JPEG |
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Week 7 Summary | ||||
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Summer of '01 at Honokowai | ||||
Turtle Happenings
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Who's Who Underwater at Honokowai | ||||
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Table of Contents | ||||
