of cats, crocodiles, and dolphins.

a very rare opportunity for me came in the form of a text message. my professor wrote to me that a beached dolphin was to be dissected immediately at the Silliman University Marine Laboratory for tests and evaluation.. i was to disseminate that message to my classmates because they needed help, manpower and intellectual power back at the marine lab. it was no question at all for us to be there immediately, except that we had classes on that hour. we didn't dare cut classes because(for geek's sake) we were diligent students..hahaha what we did instead was to come to class and try to persuade our teacher to allow us to be absent that meeting because we were needed at the SUML to dissect a beached dolphin. ask we did, however, our teacher only allowed us to leave until we finished a particular excercise. we rushed to finish the excercise and of we went to boticas to buy gloves. in less than 5 minutes, we were there at the lab, staring curiously at the poor cetacean. it was our first time to scrutinize up close a very rarely seen animal, scrutinize inside and outside at that. what happened next was a complete blur of gloved hands as almost 20 students from 2nd year to fourth year tried to handle the carcass as others measured everything statistically. from the length of its ventral slit, the base of its dorsal fin, the number of its upper and lower teeth, to the length of its depressed nipple slits and width of its blubber. we were reminded that a few hours back, it was still a living, breathing animal swimming in the shallow waters of Bantayan beach. in merely 3 hours, the dolphin was reduced to just a bloody mess, organs strewn around, meat lying in piles. it was a priceless experience for those who were there. my classmate who was from Manila was so happy he was there because he would have never experienced something like it back in the Metro. it was a pleasant day for all of us 2nd years because in a week, we were able to dissect our respective cats, a requirement for biology students; dug up a freshly buried Philippine crocodile at the Center for Tropical Conservation Studies Zoo of Silliman University to retrieve its bones for preservation, and what an experience it was, being around a carcass at the height of its putrefaction; and ultimately dissecting the beached Melon-headed whale which is actually a dolphin.
unforgettable.

here's a link for photos:http://olad.multiply.com/photos/album/35/Stranded_Cetacean