It was a big surprise when I turned on National Geographic station this week to see our cousin, Erin Spencer, swimming with the sharks on Shark Fest. If you have On Demand you might want to catch the show.
Erin is a PhD student, in marine ecology, at Florida International University, studying sharks, specifically hammer head sharks. I wouldn’t get in the water any place with a shark, let alone a hammer head. They are quite large. Erin and her research group actually spend many hours on the water looking for them.
She is a very courageous person to put herself in that kind of danger to help an apex predator to survive in the ocean. She bravely takes laser measurements while the shark swims around her, looking for a meal, hopefully, something a other than the researchers.
Author of award winning “Explore and Protect the Natural wonders of the Sea: The World of Coral Reefs”, Erin is also an accomplished writer. If you would like a very colorfully illustrated, down to earth, kids book (even adults can learn from it), I would suggest you order one of her books from www.storey.com.
It is wonderful to see what our next generation cousins are doing to impact the world. Catch her blog by googling her or go on her Facebook page.