Animal Encouter With Cath Atkin

A life-long fascination with marine mammals led Cath Atkin into her dream job as a dolphin trainer. By Michelle Camissar.

For Cath Atkin, the ocean has always held a special fascination. As a child, she spent many a blissful summer exploring rock pools with her brother, marvelling at the marine life therein. In primary school, when most girls were still dreaming of being ballet dancers and princesses, Cath already knew she wanted to be a marine biologist. Today, she believes she has the best job in the world, working as a marine mammal trainer with the dolphins at Sea World.

6am Cath starts her day bright and early with an hour-long walk with her two dogs, Harvey and Lilly. They are eight-year-old black Labradors that Cath rescued from the pound and now afford Cath the perfect opportunity to incorporate some brisk exercise into her busy day. “Harvey and Lilly have a lot of energy to burn,” Cath laughs. If she has time, Cath will also try to squeeze in a quick cup of coffee and a catch-up chat with her friend and fellow marine mammal trainer, Tacha Mulligan, before work.

8am Cath begins her day at Sea World with the task of preparing the dolphins’ fish for the following day; it is then left overnight to defrost. Each dolphin’s food is weighed individually and then placed into his or her own bucket so the trainers know exactly how much each must eat in the day. “How much a dolphin eats really depends on its size and the time of year. A mature adult offshore bottlenose dolphin eats about 10 to 12 kilos of fish per day over five feeds, while smaller animals may need only five to eight kilos,” Cath explains. “Some have voracious appetites and they can just eat and eat, so we try to keep their weight in a range that’s suitable for their length and the time of year,” she says.

Cath began her career at Sea World as a volunteer in education, followed by a stint assisting the vet, so she’s a keen advocate of keeping the dolphins in her care healthy.

9am Cath heads off to the dolphin nursery for the first feed of the day. As she walks along the boardwalk, fish bucket in hand, a pair of expectant faces pops up from out of the water, flanked closely by two of Sea World’s newest members. They are Hallie and Salty, with babies Noah and Huey. Cath feeds about four different dolphins each day, although these constantly change so that none of them will become too dependent on one particular trainer. “The first feed of the day is the most important because we get to see what sort of mood each animal is in,” says Cath.

Mothers Salty and Hallie appear in excellent moods today and are keen to show Cath their fine ‘table’ manners. They know Cath will only give them food if they have their mouths up out of the water and open, await their turn patiently and don’t snatch. Baby Huey, who was born in April this year and is still suckled by his mother, has begun to show interest in fish, so Cath holds one under the water to see what he will do. Huey is decidedly keen, but just before he can get it into his mouth, his mother Salty rushes up and eats it herself as if to say, “You’re not ready yet, Huey.” But Huey doesn’t give up and on his third attempt, he manages to get hold of the fish before his mum can interfere. “Well done, Huey,” Cath exclaims and calls out excitedly to the other trainers to share Huey’s achievement with them.

However, Huey’s still not quite sure what to do with his fish and while he plays with it, a greedy seagull swoops down and steals it away. This time Cath holds out two fish for Huey, but his mum takes both away. Better luck next time, Huey!

Next, Cath gives Hallie and Salty all-over body checks. They have both been trained to open their mouths on Cath’s signal and to lie in the water on their backs so their stomachs and mammary glands can be checked. “This behaviour is particularly important when they are pregnant so the vet can give them an ultrasound every second month,” explains Cath.

10am Cath heads back to headquarters to change into her wetsuit before the first of the day’s interactive animal adventures. “I don’t mind being in and out of the water and in a wetsuit for hours on end because I grew up doing surf lifesaving and later scuba diving during my degree,” says Cath. “In warmer weather we wear board shorts and rash vests and year round we have to constantly reapply sunscreen as we’re in the sun all day.”

10:30am Cath walks over to the other side of the park to meet up with the participants of this morning’s Dolphin Aqua Adventure. The participants have donned their wetsuits and look distinctly nervous as they wait for Cath to brief them on what to expect once they enter the water. Cath’s light-hearted and relaxed approach creates an instant rapport with the group. She asks them where they have come from and jokes about how even the man from Melbourne looks cold. They begin to relax and look forward to the animal encounter ahead.

Four dolphins and three trainers take part in the program and the animals seem very happy to show off and interact with the public. Cath works mainly with Bala who begins by waving hello and playing with a hoop held by Cath. Next, each participant is able to pose for a photograph while holding onto the dolphin. All the while Cath encourages Bala with pats, a whistle and of course, some fish. Bala is a bit cheeky and blows a raspberry (or is it a kiss?) at Cath, which has Cath in fits of laughter.

The look on each participant’s face when they first hold onto Bala is priceless. “Even though people are often nervous before they get into the water, by the end they are overawed by the whole experience,” Cath enthuses, “and that is how I feel when I connect with the dolphins. I want people to see and experience for themselves what makes my job so amazing.”

11.30am It’s time for another feed and training session with some of the dolphins who were not involved in the aqua adventure. Dolphin brothers Tyson and Coen are keen eaters and Cath is careful to check over their tooth-marked bodies for any abrasions that may need the vet’s attention. “Tyson and Coen are always sparring to see which one will be dominant, as the dominant one will get to mate,” Cath explains.

Training the dolphins is an extremely time-consuming task. They learn from Cath by positive reinforcement (such as fish, pats, a whistle); by copying other dolphins who have already mastered a particular behaviour and by approximations. “If, for example, I was asking Tyson to learn to wave, I would first get him to allow me to touch his fin by moving my hand away and then reaching out and touching the fin,” Cath explains.

“Next, I would move my hand backwards and forwards and keep getting the dolphin to touch it. A fairly simple move such as this would take a couple of weeks to teach. I don’t have much patience for my poor husband by the time I get home in the evening,” Cath jokes.

12pm Cath and the other trainers meet at headquarters for lunch. It is a jovial affair and in this type of weather, comfort food is the order of the day. Someone has brought in roast beef and gravy while yet another trainer tucks into chocolate pudding with hot fudge sauce. “There’s a wonderful camaraderie between all the marine mammal trainers,” says Cath. “We’re a very close-knit group, which really makes this a great place to work.”

1.15pm Cath heads back into the water with another group of Dolphin Aqua Adventure participants. Although they have paid to get close to the animals and learn from Cath’s expertise, Cath says that throughout her day people ask her questions, which she and the other trainers always try to answer as they arise.

2.15pm This feeding time, Cath concentrates on veteran dolphin, Amity. “Amity is about 53 years old and is an icon at Sea World,” says Cath. An Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin weighing a massive 270kg, Amity currently resides in the dolphin nursery, where she plays the role of experienced nursemaid, helping the new mothers to care for their young. Situated beneath the Skyway cable car, Amity loves to collect items such as hats that people drop off the Skyway. “She swims around with them on her fin as if to say, ‘Look at my beautiful jewellery,’” laughs Cath.

3pm Cath takes a few minutes out from working with the dolphins for record keeping. “We keep records of all the training and feeds for the day,” she says. She also sends a note to the vet, asking him to take a look at a scratch on Coen’s skin. Cath is always extremely cautious when it comes to the dolphins’ health and wellbeing.

3.30pm It’s time for the last of the day’s interactive programs in the lagoon beside Sea World’s replica of Captain Cook’s Endeavour. It is now Suzy’s turn to interact with the participants and the dolphin clearly relishes the opportunity. “Suzy is quite shy, but she loves the interactive programs and in fact, when we wanted her to take a break for a while, she didn’t want to go on holiday,” Cath remarks. “She wouldn’t swim into a separate pool and kept trying to get involved when it was other dolphins’ turns, so we let her stay on for longer.”

Towards the end of the program, Cath shows participants the different parts of Suzy’s body and dispels some of the common misconceptions that people have about dolphins. “I love educating people and probably give them too much information,” says Cath. “The programs with children are extra special – it’s like opening up a new world for them.”

4.30pm Cath heads off to the shower with the difficult task of scrubbing away the fish smell that is an unavoidable aspect of her job. “I don’t really smell it any more, but others do,” Cath jokes. “I’m always asking people for nice-smelling body wash and moisturiser for Christmas.”

5pm Not having had enough of animals for the day, Cath heads home to her dogs, who are eagerly awaiting another power walk. “I love being with the animals so much; I’d get lonely without them,” she says. Often her husband joins them for a walk on the beach, making this time of the day extra special.

6pm Cath spends the remaining hours of the day with her husband, Geoff. Tonight neither feels like cooking so they opt to eat out instead. Being a committed vegetarian, Cath knows exactly which of the Gold Coast’s many restaurants offer the best meat- and fish-free choices. On arriving home, Cath heads for the computer. She has recently completed a Masters degree in marine biology and would now like to go on to do a PhD. “One of my ambitions is to be a ‘doctor’ by the time I am 40,” she says. “I would love to do some field research as part of it. I have no intention of leaving my animals, though, and would have to find a way of juggling both. I can hear my husband and my supervisors groaning at the thought.”