Students dive into dolphin conservation with Brookfield Zoo Chicago program

Imagine spending a week in Florida studying wild dolphins. 

Local students are exploring what it takes to protect animals in their natural habitat thanks to Brookfield Zoo Chicago.

Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Sarasota Dolphin Research program is the longest running study of a wild dolphin population in the world. Student Jordan Torrez got to experience it first hand.the

"The research they are conducting over there is their diets, what they're eating, if it's changing over time, pathways to how they get to certain places, where they go and also how they communicate and attract other dolphins," Torrez said.

The Marine Mammal Research Expedition is part of Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s King Conservation Science Scholars Research Program. More than 200 local high school students are currently in the free program.

"When you come to the zoo and you see young people around the zoo interpreting with live animals, sometimes you'll see them interpreting with exhibits, that's us, that's King Scholars," said King Conservation Science Scholars Research Program manager Chris Conner.

The program culminates with a trip to either Sarasota, with the dolphins, or to the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida, where students focus on saving rare animal populations.

It encouraged Torrez to pursue a career in biology at Aurora University.

"Conservation isn't just donate this to save animals, or do this to help save this exotic place...  Conservation, you can do it anywhere, you can do it at the backyard of your house.  It's helping nature in general," Torrez said. 

While not all students will chose that path, the program inspires students to understand how their actions influence the world around them.

"Our scholars get that special experience of seeing [how] what we do in the Midwest affects what they're doing down in the Gulf, so it's a really cool full circle moment for them," Conner said.

The King Conservation Science Academy will be selecting another group of students this winter.  Students can apply online now by going to the Brookfield Zoo website.