Monday, August 18, 2008

#37: Summer Camp

Summer Camp Aquarium Style

When I was younger I went to summer camp. From what I remember there were mosquitoes, a really cold lake and raccoons that broke into my tent. There are many more summer camp options these days. This summer we have hosted the Aquarium's Harbor Discoveries Camp for a sneak peek behind the scenes of our exhibits.

Campers feeding Myrtle the green sea turtle.


Feeling Reggae's belly.

Observing seals having their teeth brushed.

This isn't your typical summer camp. Along with the usual smores eatin' and kumbaya-in' that they do on their overnight trips, these kids are also serious thinkers! The groups we hosted focused on animal husbandry and aquarium exhibit design. Along with in-depth discussions about animal care, we also found some time to have a couple of intimate encounters with the seals and Myrtle the green sea turtle.


-Justin

subscribe

Labels: , , , ,

posted by Justin at 2:22 PM 1 Comments



Tuesday, June 10, 2008

#18: Sleeping Seals

Sunken Harbor Seals

How do harbor seals sleep? How long can they hold their breath? The answers to these spine-tingling questions are the subject of today's marine mammal trainer's blog. Let's start with how the seals sleep.


In the photo you see Trumpet sleeping upside down while her hind flippers stick up like rabbit ears. This is not a common sleeping posture, but Trumpet must be on to something since her daughter Cayenne occasionally sleeps "flippers up" too.

Sleeping on the bottom of the exhibit are Reggae, in the foreground, and Cayenne against the wall in the back. Harbor seals can hold their breath for 20 minutes. As the seals sleep deeply, they just bob or roll a little in the wake of other seals swimming by. Alarmed visitors often go to the information desk to report in a whisper, "There is a dead seal in the exhibit. Just thought you should know." While the visitor is conscientiously reporting their findings to the staff, the sleeping seal rises to the surface for a couple of quick breaths before sinking slowly back to the bottom. This cycle can repeat itself for hours.


Seals can stay out of the water for hours, even days. Below, it's clear that Lana prefers her sleeping area extra firm.


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

- Jenny

subscribe

Labels: , , , , ,

posted by Jenny at 8:25 AM 2 Comments



Friday, May 23, 2008

#9: Checkup

Reggae's Blood Setup



This is a video of Reggae, our 14 year old male Atlantic harbor seal. For the past two years I have been training him to allow us to take a blood sample from his hind flipper during a session. We have tried many methods and have found that, using a butterfly needle, we are more successful at getting a blood sample and the process is less intensive. So this was the training path that he and I took. The video shows the completed behavior where our vet, Charlie, is actually getting a blood sample while Reggae sits on the rocks. When the camera zooms in, you see the blood flowing up the tube attached to the needle. Success! At the end you will see me feeding him a lot of fish. This is called magnitude reinforcement and helps to communicate that he did really well. During sessions like this one, I will give him his entire pouch!


subscribe

Labels: , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 10:47 AM 1 Comments