Aug 3 Some weeks ago, a young couple I know well (you know who you are) joined another family, friends of theirs, for a week-long sojourn aboard a small catamaran, roaming the waters around the Florida Keys. Good time was had by all, evidently.
Though there was an unexpected encounter with ... sharks. Well, scientists who work with sharks. Take a look: https://scroll.in/article/1001562/in-the-florida-keys-a-chance-encounter-and-a-shark-named-rohan See YOU in the Keys someday soon... cheers, dilip --- In the Florida Keys, a chance encounter and a shark named Rohan There is today, in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, a young male nurse shark that may answer to the name of "Rohan". He is named for a boy from California whose mother recently leaped off a catamaran to check on a marine biologist who ... well, let's back up a bit. Rohan's mother is Dr Latha Palaniappan. Their family, along with two friends, vacationed for a week recently on a catamaran out of Key West, Florida. Captain Corky and his wife Sue operate these excursions for small groups, snorkeling and birdwatching and generally nosing around the tiny islands that trail west off the tail of Florida's keys. And for most of the week, they were beyond cellphone reach. If it sounds idyllic, accounts the vacationers later sent only underlined that: clear waters, lazy days, spectacular fish for the snorkelers, sunset drinks and Sue's fabulous meals on board. 70 miles west of Key West is the Dry Tortugas National Park, a sprinkling of sandy islands that barely rise above the waves - some have even disappeared and reappeared over and over again. The largest is home to the enormous Civil War-era Fort Jefferson. It was later used as a prison; famously, one of the conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Samuel Mudd, was incarcerated here. No prisoners these days, just occasional campers from the mainland who have to carry food and water along with their gear; or occasional catamaran-types who anchor offshore for a day or two. Latha and Rohan and company spent a sunny day exploring the Fort and walking the beach. That evening, sated and happy, they sat in the catamaran, nursing drinks, chatting and planning the rest of the vacation. Sue was in the kitchen, pulling together another splendid dinner ... ... and out of the blue, a boat pulls up alongside. A voice calls through the dusk: "Is there a doctor on board?" That there is. Latha is an internist and medical researcher and among many other things, spent a year working with Médecins Sans Frontières in East Timor ( https://profiles.stanford.edu/latha-palaniappan). She vaults over the side and onto the other boat. They turn and speed to the Tortugan shore. There on the beach, when Latha disembarks, is a tall man. His name is Wes Pratt and he is a marine biologist ( https://www.nps.gov/drto/learn/nature/nursesharkresearchers.htm). He and several colleagues spend weeks at a time on these islands, studying sharks. Though right now, sharks are very far indeed from their minds, for tall Wes is lying on the sand in a faint. He had been out in a kayak all day, and the fierce Gulf sun had got to him. No surprise: in the long afternoons at this time of year, a thermometer in the Dry Tortugas can rise to 32 Celsius. A full day of that can knock anyone out. Also present is a nurse, the mother in a family of campers on the island. Latha is grateful for the help. They check Wes's pulse (high) and blood pressure (low), then revive him and get him upright. Wes throws up. Latha says that at this point she realized she would need from him some details about his medical history and habits, and that this should be done in private. So she and the nurse shoo away the others and spend a quiet half-hour or so with Wes. They decide that he won't need a medevac - a helicopter from Key West or Miami - but he certainly needs a better diet than the protein bars and water he seems to have been subsisting on. Fresh fruits and vegetables, for sure. Promising to check back the next day, Latha leaves Wes to rest and returns to the catamaran. Rohan and company are fascinated by her story. Captain Corky is particularly excited - he says he has never met a biologist. The next morning, they all return to the island, bringing with them some of their fruits and veggies. Latha is encouraged to find Wes is substantially better. And while she again speaks with him in private, Wes's colleagues talk to the rest of the catamaran folks about their research. Rohan is captivated. All he knew about sharks before this day was, and I quote, "you should not punch them if they attack you." But now these researchers have plenty to say about the animals' natural behaviour, how they act around each other, their eating habits and much more. They tag certain individuals to get an idea of their movements and migration patterns. Rohan wants to know how you tag a shark - simple, you attach the tag to its dorsal fin. "It's just cartilage," says Rohan, "so it's like piercing your ear." Once that's done, the shark sends the scientists location data for about 90 days, after which the tag detaches itself and floats to the surface. Latha and Wes join them; she is satisfied that he is recovering well. He disappears into their living quarters and emerges with a book that features their work - "Shark", by Brian Skerry. He scribbles a dedication: "For Rohan, with my thanks for your interest in sharks and for having an AWESOME MOM!" Rohan is over the moon. And through the rest of their days on the catamaran, he sees sharks everywhere: "a small one that swam under the boat", "a 7-footer near a shipwreck at the Marquesas Keys", some that were "hiding in the mangroves" there, and "a really fast one" somewhere he can't remember. Still later, Wes, now fully recovered and back to his beloved sharks, writes Latha a note. "Today we caught and tagged our 15th shark," he says, "a younger male [that we] named 'Rohan' this morning, hoping to inspire your son." Her son is certainly inspired. From that one nugget about not punching them, he now knows also that they are not scared of humans, and not even dangerous to humans. In his precious new book, he reads: "Shark's lives are full of so much more nuance and wonder than many people realize; they're intelligent animals with rich lives - not just predators to be feared." Which may be why this 12 year-old says, and I quote: "If you are gentle with them, they'll be gentle with you." -- My book with Joy Ma: "The Deoliwallahs" Twitter: @DeathEndsFun Death Ends Fun: http://dcubed.blogspot.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dilip's essays" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dilips-essays/CAEiMe8p4BgbZG0xg4By9CrsGVpKQrvqBxvXeoBNNsOEQEqSumw%40mail.gmail.com.
