Hattie’s Corner

One of my passions is scuba diving, which has taken me to exotic places all over the world. In November, 2007, while visiting La Paz, Mexico, I had a chance to dive in the Sea of Cortez. What a rich environment full of all types of “big” sea creatures. While living on an isolated island for several days (scuba camping), I had a chance to hang out with sea lions. These guys are the comedians of the sea. They swim by fast and interact with you one-on-one. During one dive, a sea lion tried to pull my glove off with his teeth, very carefully as if he knew my fingers were underneath. On another episode, a crafty sea lion tried to pull my regulator out of my mouth. What a naughty Guy!!

The most exciting experience included diving with a school of hammerhead sharks. To top it off, while returing to the mainland, across the Sea of Cortez we encountered three whale sharks. My dive buddy and dive master were able to snorkle with one of the whale sharks. It was truly a spiritual experience. The whale shark was beautiful, with those big spots across his body. On one of his graceful turns and approaches, I was able to caress his dorsal fin and look him “eyeball to eyeball.” WOW!! Once on the boat I took a few photos of him. I am forever changed. What a graceful and beautiful animal. We need to love our oceans and seas around the world to preserve these beautiful creatures.

While on a recent visit to Zoo Atlanta to see patients, we had a chance to take a break and visit Lun Lun and her baby, Mei Lan. They were having lots of fun while we were there.

Gaboon vipers are one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. The scientific name is Bitis Gabonica. These snakes live along the equatorial belt of Africa (East and Central Africa, West Nigeria, South to Kwazulu/Natal). As you can see his coloration is cryptic, making it very difficult to distinguish him on the forest floor. Survival is about camouflage in the wild. He is the largest viper living in Africa.

As you can see his right eye is very cloudy due to a spectacle problem. Snakes do not have eyelids so they have a spectacle (protective layer) that covers the cornea. Sometimes the space between the spectacle and cornea becomes inflamed and has to be drained. Obviously, general anesthesia is necessary for me to examine this patient.

He is sooooo beautiful!!