3/18/10

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2/11/10

The fur seals are charged about The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D!

The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D is opening at the Aquarium's Simons IMAX Theatre tomorrow, and everyone is getting ready. The animals have been practicing some of their best wave moves, and the trainers are getting in on the act too.



Come on by to catch the flick, and be sure to save some time to visit the fur seals at the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center!


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1/15/10

# 156: Got squid?

Ursula, a Northern fur seal, is always up to something. Here she is stretching on a Fitness Friday, a great start to any New Year's resolution.


Ursula stretching with her trainer on Fitness Friday. (Photo: Ann Cortissoz)

Her latest skill may not be so elegant, or polite. But we're all family here! Here she is helping herself to some squid, lots of squid. (With a little help from her trainer, Belinda, of course!)




Ursula often visits us behind the scenes here in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center. We first saw her sneaking snacks from the fridge while preparing food for the rest of the seals one day. (Find out what else our seals eat here.) We wondered whether it was a fluke, but sure enough, she continues to help herself whenever she's given an opportunity. If her New Year's resolution was to lay off the snacks, it looks like she's not doing so well with that goal!

Fortunately, we have an active bunch. All five of our fur seals get plenty of exercise cruising around their pool, or learning new skills during training sessions. Come by sometime and see for yourself! And in the meantime, good luck with those New Year's resolutions.

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1/7/10

#155: Chuck is a Patriots superfan!

Are you ready for some football?! A friendly rivalry is brewing with the National Aquarium in Baltimore ahead of the upcoming New England Patriots - Baltimore Ravens playoff showdown. Chacoda got into the spirit with some raucous cheering for the New England Patriots during today's training session.




Here's the message from Baltimore that got our seals all fired up:





Grrr! Chacoda is confident the Pats will dominate.

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1/4/10

#154: Let It Snow!

Even though there is a blanket of snow in the exhibit, Ursula couldn't care less. She seems to really enjoy rolling in it! Watch how all that fur keeps her comfortable while she is frolicking in the snow during our training session.








Happy New Year!


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12/21/09

#153: Happy Holidays

What a year! When we look back through the blogs, a lot of exciting things happened. We trained different species of animals, opened the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, and welcomed a new colony of Northern Fur Seals. While the holidays can be a busy time, we wanted to take a minute and thank everyone who followed us this year. We really appreciated the interest, the questions and the support. Here's to another great year!



Happy Holidays,
-Erin

(See the Marine Mammal Team's equally adorable 2008 holiday card here.)

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12/17/09

#152: Sounds of the seals

Snoring, bleating, purring? This sounds like my house after the Thanksgiving meal. Imagine my surprise when I heard the same sounds coming from the Northern fur seals. Last month I posted examples of Baranov's "whickering." Ursula makes some unique sounds of her own.



Ursula had been quiet as the proverbial church mouse during her first year and a half with us. Then, only occasionally, we would hear a sound similar to that of a bleating sheep. This sound is made by some female fur seals as they enter estrus (what we refer to as "in heat" for dogs). Recently some staff members described a new sound from Ursula as a clicking or rumbling in her throat. I was able to record the sound while waiting for work to be completed on an exhibit door. Unfortunately, the recording also picks up the door being rattled so some of Ursula's sounds are covered. Her clicking sound is made with her mouth closed and goes for the first two seconds, then right as it goes to three you hear the first of the door sounds.




I tried to catch the sound again in this video, but became captivated by Baranov's territorial display. You'll see Isaac head for the water, but Cordova seems less than concerned by Baranov roaring in her face.




-Jenny

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11/29/09

#151: Seal of the Week - Cayenne

After a long hiatus, as we acclimated our fur seals to their new surroundings, we are back for seal of the week! This week we are going to highlight Cayenne.


Cayenne, often referred to as "Cay," is the youngest of our females. Her mother Trumpet gave birth to her on June 6, 1993. She has a younger brother Chacoda, born in 1995. Some physical characteristics that help define Cay are the dark spots on her belly, almond shaped eyes, and a petite frame. Typically she weighs between 130 - 150 pounds so you can often point her out because she is the smallest of our seals.

Cayenne is very attentive to the goings on in her exhibit. Whether someone is cleaning the exhibit, doing enrichment or giving a group tour, Cayenne is sure to be keeping track of all that we are doing. She has often been deemed the "watchdog" of our harbor seals.

If you happen to be walking by the exhibit, you will typically find Cay spending time in the shallow end. You may even be able to play with her. From time to time, we find that Cayenne will interact with objects or visitors on the other side of the glass that attract her attention. One day, a trainer observed her following the path of a plastic bag blowing around the plaza in the wind. Sometimes, a simple hand movement back and forth in front of the glass is enough to capture her curiosity. Check out this previous post and to see what I mean! This post has another video of glass enrichment with Cayenne. You never know what she may find interesting so if you capture her eye, give it a try!

-Patty

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11/26/09

#150: Thanksgiving with the seals

This year, Rochelle and I spent Thanksgiving at the aquarium. We had a lovely day and feasted with our 12 seals; yummm...









The menu: A juicy, succulent Herring with a side of calamari. And no Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without the smelts.



By the afternoon, bellies were full and naps were taken...





But not before Reggae made us a lovely holiday painting!







HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

-Lindsay and Ro...

and Lana, Smoke, Reggae, Amelia, Trumpet, Cayenne, Chacoda, Ursula, Cordova, JD, Baranov, and Isaac


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11/18/09

#148: A formal introduction to Isaac the Northern fur seal

It is high time we officially introduce you to our youngest male Northern fur seal, Isaac. Isaac is 9 years old and currently weighs in at just over 200 pounds, though we expect him to nearly double in size in the next few years.


Isaac was born at the Seattle Aquarium and is named after Chris Isaak, who happened to be playing nearby at the time. When he moved out here, he traveled with a trainer by FedEx (we still have the packing slip!).

During the last few months, we have been working with Isaac to fine-tune some of his behaviors, including his head shake (so you can see his handsome hair), vocal (it sounds like a purr), and open mouth. He is doing great!


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11/16/09

#147: Yoga with the fur seals on the news

Did you know that to stay healthy, a lot of people are doing some of the same behaviors that our fur seals do? That's right. Stop in to any local yoga studio and you will see people doing poses that look a lot like what Cordova and Ursula do on a daily basis.


Trainer Lindsay and Ursula the Northern fur seal show kids how to stretch.

The marine mammal staff has paired with Abbie Davies, founder and owner of My First Yoga, to show that everyone does the same things to stay healthy. Just check out this story that recently aired on NECN to learn a little more, then come on in and join us during one of our Fitness Friday presentations.


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10/23/09

#146: Learn a new fur seal behavior - What's a Whicker?

Male fur seals make a sound referred to as a "whicker." It is difficult to describe and can vary between a breathy, clicking sound to more distinct clicks. Males tend to whicker when defending territory or when courting female fur seals during breeding season.


Baranov

Listen closely during the video and you can hear Baranov whickering. It seemed he was responding to a sound made by one of the other seals. He whickered on and off for several minutes this morning before falling back to sleep.



~ Jenny

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10/14/09

#145: Good Morning JD

This is JD shortly after waking up one morning. She rested most of the night on deck and you can see how dry and furry she really is.





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10/9/09

#144: Jenny answers marine mammal training questions in The Boston Globe

If you're a marine mammal fan, today is a good day to pick up The Boston Globe. The Aquarium's own Jenny Montague is featured in the G-Force interview section. She's already written about how she got her start training marine mammals for this blog, but this interview has some new insights, such as who's Jenny's favorite seal to work with right now and a sneak preview of Jenny's upcoming Aquarium lecture. It's free and open to the public, but you better register here before it fills up!



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10/2/09

#143: Baranov the Northern fur seal moves into his new home

Baranov is back! Last time he was at the Aquarium, he enjoyed doing his impression of a fur seal monorail on the previous exhibit's bridge. Now he's back and he has a much larger, brand new space to explore in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center.


Baranov arriving at the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center (left) and in his previous home at the Mystic Aquarium (right).

So how do you transport a Northern fur seal that weighs between 400 and 500 pounds? A simple dolly isn't enough... the team used a forklift. Here's a photo slide show of the move. Press play to get it started!




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