The world according to me....

Being sea turtle biologists in North Carolina means we see a lot of dead stranded turtles. Dead turtles mean, among other things, necropsies! After all, we have to try to figure out what killed the turtle (or more precisely, what DIDN'T kill the turtle), whether it was a male or female, and other physiological characteristics. Fortunately, I get to work with Wendy Cluse, who never fails to amaze me with her energy and enthusiasm, not to mention her continual smile even in the face of smelly dead-turtle innards.

We try to get to the carcasses before the midday sun starts cooking them, but invariably we sometimes have to open up a hissing, bloated loggerhead carcass. Necropsies always mean we get to have dead turtle smell impregnated in our skin and clothes for at least several hours.

And don't forget to open the brain case to see if there are signs of a hemorrhage (indication of head trauma prior to death)! Thanks to Dr. Craig Harms for that tip.