Victoria UR: Take a Bite out of This!

My dog Scamp sleeping on my legs. LOL!

Ever since I was a child, I loved animals with a passion. My parents took me to multiple zoos, aquariums, the like. I was always excited to watch anything that had to do with animals, I had fish, cats, and hamsters growing up. I always wanted more!! I've had many dogs, and many more cats since then. As of right now, I have a cat named S'mores, a sugar glider named Gizmo, two leopard geckos named Tangerine and Hypnotic, and my parents have my dog Scamp. After having all of these animals, I still want many more, so I've continued in school by choosing this as a study path.
   

Last day of Shark Ecology out in the Ocean using
drum lines, this 6ft. male black tip was caught,
tagged, and released. He was so heavy, he was
 pulling the boat sideways.

   





 My freshman year of college I was attending University
of North Florida in Jacksonville, I was told by my advisor
 that a professor was starting up a Shark Ecology class, and
 that I was allowed to take it since my career choice followed the Degree Program. In this class, I was able to tag and release sharks, while recording where they were caught, collecting a tissue sample to later compare how many of
 them were related, and measuring length and weight. It was definitely a path I could choose for my future! I had so much fun!







Because of how much I love animals and enjoyed tagging the sharks, I will be working alongside a professor to tag local sharks to find out how many sharks may call out intercoastal waters home, and to find out just how important this ecosystem is for all of the environment and people, even those who are afraid of sharks. Just because the movie "Jaws" was scary, and we don't know that much about our jagged toothed fishy friends doesn't mean we need to be pertified of them and kill them needlessly. Just remember, "Fish are friends, not food"