June 27th, 2015

I just got back from visiting the East coast. I saw the ocean for the first time. I got to see whales on the whale watch. The whale boat was called Dolphin IX. We saw 2 species of whales: Fin whales and Humpback whales.

It was very exciting to see whales. It was cool when they flipped their fluke up to go for a dive!

I met a naturalist named Carolyn O'Connor. She studies whales with the Center for Coastal Studies out of Provincetown, Massachusetts. A naturalist identifies whales by the scratches or markings on their backs and flukes. They record data about each whale sighting. The Fin whale we saw was named Loon. His name is Loon because of the marking on his back that looks like a bird holding a fish in its beak.

I talked to her about the Maui Dolphins. She already knew they were close to extinction. I told her more about it. She gave me money to donate towards saving them. (THANK YOU CAROLYN!!)

Here are the things you can do to help the Maui dolphins too!
1) Spread the word. Sign the petition.
2) Donate here.
3) Don't eat seafood from New Zealand.

---