Whales are the subjects of the Sandbar Lecture in May at the Museum of Coastal Carolina.
Whales
Thirty-five species of living cetacean (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) species have been documented in the waters off North Carolina, and Keith Rittmaster, of Bonehenge Whale Center at the NC Martitime Museum in Beaufort knows something about all of them.
Through a 50-minute slide presentation with hands-on display items (bones, teeth, baleen, oil,) Rittmaster will give an overview of species he encounters through his work, and some of the conservation issues they face during the Sandbar Lecture at the Museum on May 13 at 5:30 p.m. Rittmaster will also introduce the recently completed Bonehenge Whale Center.
Rittmaster has worked as a marine mammal scientist on research projects in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, Cook Inlet Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, and northwest Atlantic Ocean. In 1985, he began a long-term photoidentification study of the bottlenose dolphins near Beaufort to investigate residency, migration, associations, reproduction, and mortality.
He also responds to reports of dead, dying, and entangled marine mammals as part of the NC Marine Mammal Stranding Network in the region directed by his wife Vicky Thayer. Both are members of the Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network and initiated the NC Monofilament Recovery and Recycling program to address the conservation issue of protected marine wildlife becoming entangled in discarded fishing line and nets.
They also study, prepare, and rearticulate cetacean skeletons for research, education, and display. He received a B.A. in Economics from Denison University and a Master’s in Environmental Management from Duke University.
The Museum’s Sandbar Lecture Series is designed to inspire curiosity about regional history, coastal ecosystems and diverse wildlife. Local subject matter experts facilitate lively and interactive presentations about various fascinating topics for all visitors.
All one-hour Sandbar lectures are free with Museum admission: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for children ages 3-12.
The Museum of Coastal Carolina is located at 21 East Second Street in Ocean Isle Beach, NC.
Admission is free for members. Non-member all-day admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors (62+), $8 for children (3-12), and free for age 2 and under.
For more information, call 910-579-1016, visit www.museumplanetarium.org, or like us on Facebook.com /MuseumCoastalCarolina
