< Previous20 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2022 CURRENTS | BOOKS PASSION FOR PELICANS Islander’s books continue to be inspired by rescued water birds story by SARAH GRUNAU | photo by JENNIFER REYNOLDS When Coast Monthly a year ago caught up with islander Brandi Grasso, we learned how her children’s book “Royal Pelican Tales: Introducing Prince Henry and Princess Henrietta” was inspired by the pelicans that reside in the inlet behind her island home. Henry and Henrietta were the stars of Grasso’s book and came into her life after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Since we last chatted with Grasso, she has published a new children’s book. I n Brandi Grasso’s latest children’s book, “Birds Dislike This and Dislike That,” she warns of common threats pelicans face every day. “My main message is to be aware and to pay attention to the birds that are in your environment,” she said. “Even little things like lawn mowers can be very disturbing to the bird population. It’s especially important for children to learn about this.” In the days after Hurricane Harvey, Grasso rescued a baby pelican and its brother, which became inspiration for a series of chil- dren’s books. And Henry and Henrietta still are very much a part of Grasso’s life. After a spiritual experience, Grasso felt motivated to write children’s books about the joy of rehabbing, environmentalism and her personal studies in shamanism, she said. Her first books were “The Royal Pelican Tales” paperbacks, which eventually were combined into a hardback trilogy. A passion for pelicans runs in Grasso’s family. In the 1950s, the Texas governor commissioned her grandfather, Joseph Grasso Jr., to procure some wild pelicans for Buckingham Palace at the request of Her Majesty, Elizabeth II, the Queen of England. Joseph Grasso Jr. died in 1975. “I feel like Joe is looking down on me with my two pelicans,” Brandie Grasso said of her grandfather. Lately, Brandi Grasso is noticing a signifi- cant increase in the number of pelicans she usually sees each summer, she said. “I am unsure if it is due to being unsea- sonably warm, but I have triple the number of pelicans than I usually have this time of year,” she said. “For the five summers I’ve had her, it’s just been Henrietta and I and a couple other pelicans that fly in. This year, her brother Henry is here, he comes back every fall and stays through early summer. But now I have five more birds than I nor- mally have this time of year.” Grasso believes the pelican abundance might be indicative of climate change, she said. “We are seeing the effects of climate change, and the impact it has on pelicans,” she said. “The heat is also affecting them. It’s costing me a lot to feed them.” Brandie Grasso’s book “Birds Dislike This and Dislike That” can be found and pur- chased on her website, brandiegrasso.org. “Most of my book sales right now are going into taking care of and feeding the pelicans,” Grasso said. COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2022 2122 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2022 PHOTO: CO u RTESY g ALVESTON BAY DOLPHIN RESEARCH PRO g RAM COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2022 23 FEATURE MYSTERIOUS MAMMALS Dolphins long have captured the imagination of sea-faring humans story by KERI HEATH P eer over the side of the Galveston-Port Bolivar Ferry or squint at the bow of a tanker vessel in the ship channel and there’s a good chance you’ll see dolphins gliding through the water. Often a symbol of good luck, dolphins have become one of the most beloved marine crea- tures. But for researchers studying the waters around Gal- veston County, the mammals still contain many mysteries. The upper Texas coast is home to common bottlenose dolphins. They’re inherently playful creatures and have been ob- served riding on the bows of tanker ships or tossing floun- der like Frisbees, said Sarah Piwetz, conservation biologist with the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The organization rehabilitates and studies injured or sick dolphins that strand, or wash up on Texas beaches. Dolphins are very smart creatures, and people often observe them foraging along bulkheads. “We think they may be using it as a barrier to herd prey,” Piwetz said. CITY DOLPHIN, COUNTRY DOLPHIN Scientists still are trying to figure out exactly how many dolphins are in Galveston Bay, said Vanessa Mintzer, research scientist with the Galveston Bay Foundation’s Galveston Bay Dolphin Research Program. Mintzer thinks there are about 800 to 1,200 individual dolphins in the bay, with more dolphins in the summer. “There are some dolphins that are residents that will be in Galveston Bay year-round,” Mintzer said. “Then there are seasonal residents that are coming in during the summer months. There are transient individuals that are coming in from other estuaries.” For the most part, dolphins tend to stick to a certain region, Piwetz said. Galveston Bay dolphins will stay in Galveston Bay. Near-coastal dolphins stay near the coast. And off-coast dol- phins roam the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, she said. But these aren’t hard-and-fast rules. Two dolphins ride the bow waves of a vessel in the ship channel.26 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2022 FEATURE COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2022 27 It takes a long time to get data on popula- tion trends because dolphins live for decades, Mintzer said. The oldest recorded dolphin in the Gulf of Mexico is 67 years old, she said. Scientists can learn how many dolphins are in the bay by taking photos of their dorsal fins. The nicks and scratches and imperfections are unique to each dolphin, so scientists can track animals over time. Mothers and calves tend to stick together longest, but other dolphins pair up, too, Mintzer said. “The longest-term relationship that we’ve seen in Galveston Bay dolphins is male pair alliances, two males that will become friends for life,” Mintzer said. THE MYTH OF DOLPHINS Dolphins have long captured the imagina- tion and are very social creatures. Ancient Greeks considered them a good omen and sailors long have considered them a symbol of good luck. Dolphins are among only a few animals that show true playfulness and that’s interest- ing to people, Piwetz said. There’s good reason dolphins have cap- tured the imagination of humans, said Chris Marshall, director of the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Marshall also has spent consider- able time studying dolphins. “People are just fascinated with animals that are adapted to the sea and can swim and adapt to the sea,” Marshall said. Stories abound of dolphins protecting people or guiding lost mariners to shore, and while they’re not all true, those stories create a mythos around the animals, he said. “There’s enough stories out there,” Mar- shall said. “That kind of mythology really holds people’s imagination. I think for a lot (From left) Heidi Whitehead, Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network executive director, photographs bottlenose dolphins in the Galveston Ship Channel to learn more about individuals in the population; a bottlenose dolphin mother and calf pair surface to breathe in Galveston Bay. Photos were taken under a research agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. PHOTOS: CO u RTESY TEXAS MARINE MAMMAL STRANDIN g NETWORK28 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2022 FEATURE of people, especially people who love the water, they’re kind of envious. They wish they could swim as well as dolphins.” Dolphins also are very easy and common to see, which makes them stand out in peo- ple’s minds, Piwetz said. “I imagine if I was to see a land mammal that was 800 feet long and upwards of 300 pounds, that would be a striking thing,” Piwetz said. INTERACTION WITH HUMANS But dolphins’ interactions with humans aren’t always a good thing. Dolphins have begun swimming behind shrimping boats to feast off the cache of fish attracted to the vessels, Mintzer said. “We don’t know what kind of impact that could be having on dolphins,” Mintzer said. “There might be dolphins that have become very dependent on shrimp trawlers as a food source. It could have a lot of different consequences, the most drastic one being mortality because they could become entan- gled in trawler gear.” The impact on dolphins of so much ship- ping, fishing and petrochemical activity in the bay also is largely unknown, Piwetz said. People also should understand what to do if a dolphin strands, Marshall said. People shouldn’t push them back into the water, or try to touch them. “Dolphins don’t get stuck on accident,” Marshall said. “Usually something’s wrong. They’re sick. They’re trying to help them- selves somehow.” Instead, people should call the stranding network at 1-800-962-6625 to alert scientists who can help the dolphin. “Respect all wildlife,” Marshall said. KEY SPECIES Still, people tend to love dolphins and love seeing them leaping through the waves. And sometimes, humans paying atten- tion to dolphins is a good thing, because studying them is key to keeping the bay and surrounding waters healthy, Mintzer said. “From a science perspective and a con- servation perspective, dolphins are indicator species,” Mintzer said. “Because they’re at the top of the food chain and they live long lives, their health and survival can be con- nected to the health of the ecosystem.” (From top) The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network educates children about how to rescue a stranded dolphin; a bottlenose dolphin leaps fully out of the water in Galveston Bay. Photo taken under a research agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.Become our partner in Galveston, we’ll take care of everything. Vacasa’s modern vacation home management makes the experience life-changing for your home and your pocket. 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