Yesterday AM Nim and I spent some quality time in SVS (pet emergency) before I even got to work. He kept his little eyes closed like this unless it behooved him to see what was going on. He has a superficial cornea ulcer in one eye and apparently sympathy pain in the other? I don't know. All I know is that for something that shows no outward injury this has been one of the more frustrating dog injuries I have dealt with.
Today's Org post is a different one! One site isn't even a charitable organization, but I am so intrigued by the potential research, I figured why not mention it.
"52 Hertz" Whale Kickstarter
This is probably the first Kickstarter I have paid considerable attention to. While I am not a huge fan of the "Loneliest Whale" PR angle (not to mention humans have proven we are not particularly good at being friends to whales), I am however interested in any research that might come out of this project that might serve to further understand human impact and protect whales. Not only that...what if it is not even a whale?! This story has been all over the news this week which is the first time I heard of the "52 Hertz" whale, but he has been studied for awhile.
Ocearch.org
I can spend hours on this site and I have. I love the photos, migration stories, and the descriptions. I wish we didn't have to tag animals, but I clearly benefit from and enjoy the education this organization provides. It is sad when they go to recover a tag from a shark that has been hunted, but they also seemed to handle it respectfully and use the information as part of the larger picture for great white shark conservation.
Oceach.org describes themselves as "the leader is open source research" and I truly admire them for successfully presenting to the non-scientist such as myself, while also supporting grade school level education and PhD level research. They had really embraced social media and they keep their content current, complete, and available.
You will spend hours on the site...you have been warned.
Enjoy!
The 52 Hertz is really interesting. What would they do once they found "the whale"? It's not like they can pair it up. I assume they'll tag it if they do. I think if anything, this project will hopefully (like you said) bring to light the impact humans have. We do nothing but destroy everything.
ReplyDeleteI just took a quick peak at the ocearch.org and clicked on some of the shark trackers. Definitely will need more time to check this one out. Thanks for the links!
I sure hope Nim is okay and they can help him. Poor guy.
You voiced my exact question. There are many things in nature that were probably better off not being found. And I love these discoveries, but we stink at leaving well enough alone! The ocean is huge and so much more could be learned so if we can learn more without damage I am all for it.
DeleteIt is an addictive site. :)
He is holding out. We aren't training today and I called the vet again yesterday. It is hard to watch, but the eyes look better every day.
I hope Nim's eyes feel better soon. It's never any fun to spend time at an emergency vet.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding!
Delete