Aquarium Volunteering and the Story So Far

I'm thinking of volunteering at an aquarium next year in order to get some experience working with marine mammals. At the moment, I'm thinking of either Blue Reef Aquarium in South Shields, or the Sea Life Centre at Scarborough, both of which hold seals. I know you can volunteer at Sea Life, (I was talking to one of the seal trainers there on my last visit about a month ago) but I don't know about Blue Reef. Blue Reef would be of course much nearer than Scarborough, which is about an hour and a half away from home. And as I would be volunteering in the summer holidays, I might be going to the aquarium quite a few times a week so it can't really be far away. I'll think about it...

In other news is the story so far. Obviously, I started this blog, what, an hour ago perhaps? Either way, I thought I'd share my story. Basically, it started at Barcelona Zoo in Spain in 2005, when I was five years old. I saw the dolphins swimming around through the underwater viewing glass and instantly fell in love with them. And, after seeing a performance of the dolphin show, I decided that I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. In 2008, I visited Florida and went to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove. While here, I saw belugas, killer whales, psuedorcas and Commerson's dolphins. I then also swam with dolphins and interacted with the Commerson's dolphins at Aquatica. This was where my love for dolphins just grew and grew and grew. Since then, I have seen and interacted with lots more marine mammals, and I learned the general qualifications and skills you need to be a dolphin trainer. Now, it's just a matter of getting them all them skills and qualifications. I already have some: I'm a confident swimmer, I have a scuba certificate, I have prior experience working with animals... and I'm working on a lifeguard course, part of which includes CPR training. So if I work hard enough, I will hopefully one day fulfill my dream of working with dolphins or killer whales (or any other cetacean).

Lastly, here are some photos of marine mammal interactions that I've decided to share with you all:

Me and the Commerson's dolphins

Interacting with seals at Sea Life Scarborough

More interacting

This one's so cute

He's gone right upside-down!