Oceans Live '97 Journals from South Caicos

  From the week ending May 2, 1997

The Newest Belonger
Ben Mahnke - SFS Student Affairs Manager

One of the senior staff members on South Caicos, Charlie Smithwick, recently adopted a lost baby kitten while students were out on a night dive. As Charlie kept watch on the divers from the truck, it came meowing out of the bushes. For twenty minutes he tried to shoo it away and find its mother. Several times he carried it back in the direction it had come from, only to have it vigorously track him down again. Charlie felt guilty, as he was separating a feline family, but the kitten would not turn away. Charlie, a 6'2", 185 lb. man, adopted the week-old, stubborn kitten.

The kitten, whom we have named Belle, has been living at the Center with us for the last two weeks. The first few nights she would cry loudly if she wasn't taken to bed to sleep with someone. Then she would wake up and gallop around their bed at night. She's started practicing how to stalk and pounce on things. We've become used to suddenly feeling her jump on our feet if we walk by one of her hiding places. Soon she'll be old enough to take care of herself, and then it'll be her decision whether to stay at the Center or not. We'll all be quite happy if Belle sticks around.

Hammer!!
Joe Chojnacki

The other day my group was conducting fish surveys at a local dive site called Troy’s Dream. We were in the middle of our transect when I looked up and saw the monstrous shape of a shark. I couldn’t tell what kind of shark it was, though, since the water was a little hazy. All I knew was that it was a big shark, and that it didn’t get to be that size just by being nice. I know it’s uncommon for a shark to attack, but when it’s that big you realize that there’s not a whole lot you could do if it did attack; you’re really at its mercy. As it turned back our way, I saw its flattened, elongated head. All I could think was "I’m looking at my first Hammerhead!

"It turns out that several moments before I saw it, the shark was a lot closer to me. I could have gotten a better look at the shark but I was diligently doing my work. But I’m just glad I got to see that shark at all. If I don’t see anything else while I’m down here, I’ll still feel more than satisfied.

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