This past winter session I stayed home to intern at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation. For any Long Islanders looking for internships dealing with marine mammals and/or wildlife rehabilitation, I would definitely recommend looking into interning or volunteering with the Foundation.
During the month I spent volunteering at the hospital (The only certified Marine Mammal Hospital in New York State), I learned a lot about the general care and maintenance of the facilities. It involves a ton of cleaning - everything must be kept as sterile as possible, and the hospital itself is "quarantined" from the Aquarium. I learned how to clean tanks, perform water quality analysis, and check the tanks to make sure everything was in working order. I also learned how to prepare food for the animals that were currently in rehabilitation, 3 seals and 5 sea turtles, and properly administer medications.
While the daily routine was pretty straightforward, there were some unique highlights of my internship. I volunteered to help with the Seal Cruises that the Riverhead Foundation hosts out of Freeport, and got to see wild seals swimming in the waters around Long Island. One day, NOAA had brought back 3 common dolphins that had been caught as bycatch on a fishing boat, and I was able to assist and observe the necropsy of the animals. Towards the end of my internship, I was able to observe routine physicals on two of the seals in the Foundation's care. On two occasions, I went out on live response. The second time, we brought back a sick gray seal pup, who is currently being cared for at the hospital. The last thing I learned to to, and perhaps my favorite part of the internship, was to restrain a seal in order to administer eye ointment. It was awesome to be able to get "up close and personal" with wild animals.
The Internship can be found on the Foundation's website, www.riverheadfoundation.org. Or, if you choose, they also have a very large volunteer network!
It was a great way for me to spend my winter break, and an amazingly unique experience.
If you need any more information let me know! Please email the secretary for contact information about this internship :)
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