Marine Mammals Department

Harbor seal

I spent my next day working with the team from marine mammals, who care for and train the harbor seals and fur seals. I first worked in the kitchen divvying up fish for each of the fur seals. Then the team and I headed over to the harbor seals to do training with them and feeding. I watched as they performed tricks like opening their mouth, jumping, rolling around, waving, and presenting their flippers. Theses skills are important not just for the audience to watch for enjoyment but for when the seals are in need of medical care or are getting a check up. It was lots of fun to see the seals playing around and having so much fun. Later in the day I got to do some enrichment with them throwing toys at them and balls of fish in ice. We also sprayed them with a hose and watched them play around having lots of fun. It was great to work with the seals and see how much work goes into training and getting to know each animal on a personal level.