20130228 Gulf Specimen Marine Lab - Panacea Florida

The Gulf Specimen Marine Lab is tucked in among really nice seaside residences. A small front building contains the gift shop and a small office, while the aquariums are pretty much all outdoor or in open air tents.  They have several touch tanks with various  shell-life and horseshoe crabs (mating, I  might add), but some tanks were strictly  "no touch".  The marine lab is a working lab  and human interference in the experiments  means trying to account for the errors you introduce or injury you cause (via the  chemicals on your hands) or starting the entire experiment over from scratch. It was a really cool place.

They had a nurse shark pair and their calf. I think I had to take ten photos just to get one with one adult and the calf in the same shot. The parents swam in circles in the small-diameter of the tank (maybe ten feet). One stayed near the calf  nearly all the time, and following it when it swam off.

Allie is a Loggerhead Sea Turtle. They're endangered and are commonly rescued after being damaged by motorboats or swallowing fish hooks. Allie endured the latter. GSML removed her hook and rehabilitated the 250 pound, 50 year old, turtle so she could be released (which they did June 22, 2013).  It takes a lot of fish to feed a turtle that big, so the lab offers "adoptions" to fund her. I felt I had to, and earned a little "Certificate of Adoption" in thanks! Wee!

I got myself a Patch (my favorite kind of  souvenir) and just enjoyed all the very  neat wildlife! I loved this place!


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