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PROGRAMS Scholars of the Sea During their trip to Sarasota Bay in June, the King Conservation Science Scholars participated in
Dr. Randy Wells began his work with dolphins dolphin focal behavior observations with Dr. Katie McHugh (far right).
in 1970, when he was just 16 years old. He started
volunteering at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, and While the students were blown away by their up-close encounters
was hooked. Today, he is director of the Chicago Zoological Society’s with the dolphins, they also heard from various researchers on the team
Sarasota Dolphin Research Program—the world’s longest-running about the ins and outs of being a researcher, helping them understand
study of a wild dolphin population. everything that goes behind the work.
Wells knows firsthand the importance of getting hands-on This was the first time the King Conservation Science Scholars took this
experience while you’re young. And, in conjunction with the Society’s sort of “extended field trip,” and it was a huge success. For each of the
King Conservation Science Scholars program, last June, he was able to kids—whether it was confirming they wanted to do conservation work,
help eight high school students get that experience for themselves. or simply reminding them to be conservation-minded throughout their
daily lives—it was truly a life-altering experience.
The eight students—four boys and four girls—all came from
different backgrounds. But they all had one thing in common: they We are grateful to the King Family Foundation for their generous
loved science. support of this program. To learn how you can become a King
Conservation Science Scholar, visit our website at CZS.org/Scholars.
A lot of preparation went into this trip. The students spent a year
taking monthly workshops about bottlenose dolphins and various
research techniques. Then, this past June, the students spent a full
week in Sarasota. They received boat safety training, learned how to
take observations of dolphins, and practiced identifying photos of
dolphins. They spent time on the water actually identifying dolphins,
and spent hours following a single dolphin, recording all of its behavior.
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