Bahamas: Exploration of Sunken Ships and Playing with Predators

8-19-16

Today we took a break from dolphin spotting to explore other areas of the ocean. 

We started off the day at the Bimini Biological Field Lab where we were told of the research they are doing there. They study many different species of fish there, but we mostly discussed the Nurse shark and Lemon shark pups that they had on sight. They keep these specific species for research because unlike other sharks, nurse and lemon sharks can pump water through their gills. Other species of sharks must keep moving to have water pass through their gills, so these two are best from keeping in enclosed spaces. Our guide was able to catch a Nurse shark easily in the enclosure and flipped it upside down, so it entered a calming state. This allowed us to feel the scales of the shark, where it was rough on top, yet smooth underneath. It took our guide a little longer to catch the lemon shark, but he eventually did and we got a closer look  at the year old pup who only needs to eat 2 to 3 times a week. 

After our trip to the "Shark Lab", a small group of us went out on a boat where we first stopped at an island known for having sting rays. We were told they would get close to you, but these things were all over us. They enjoy brushing their wings against people and they certainly like being fed. We started off with one giant one, who had to be the sweetest of the bunch, and one by one more sting rays arrived until we were swarmed with them. Three Nurse sharks even showed up. It was an experience like no other, but it was only the beginning of our trip.

We then traveled to a sunken ship made of concrete from World War One. It was old and falling apart, but it was swarming with fishes. The ship was half underwater, half above the surface, so we were able to dive into different rooms with our snorkels. 

Once we finished exploring the ship, we went out to a destination not to far away to swim with sharks. Our Captain went in first and was disappointed by the one reef shark in the area, but we were all more than happy to swim with just one shark. He, on the other hand, got back into the boat and started throwing bait into the water until we had three reef sharks around the boat. Our entire group was pretty freaked out by how close these sharks got, but they were more interested in the fish nearby. What i remember most are the sharks small, spherical eyes with a slit down the middle for a pupil, like a cat. 

 Swimming with rays, sharks and through sunken ships are unreal experiences. I can now say I've swam with sting rays, sharks and dolphins.

Your Friendly Bohemian Student,

Taylor Maher