8/31/11

Zoe and Sierra: You can't have one without the other

Even though Zoe and Sierra, the two California sea lion pups, are getting acclimated to being on exhibit with the five Northern fur seals in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, they still tend to stick pretty close together.


 Zoe and Sierra on deck at the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center

California sea lions Zoe and Sierra zipping through the water side by side.

We've noticed that Zoe likes to always have some part of her body in contact with Sierra. We often see the sea lions on deck with their front flippers touching, sometimes one flipper on top of the other.


And when they rest or sleep, they lean on each other, or one rests her head on the other. (Fur seals like their space; they always have at least a flipper's length between them when they sleep. So if you see two dark, furry bodies curled together, you can be sure you're looking at Zoe and Sierra.)


8/19/11

These rocks really hit the spot

Just one of the ways a fur seal can get a good scratch!



Baranov gets a little help from the exhibit with his grooming




Speaking of grooming, check out this classic post of Ursula grooming. My how far we've come, new exhibit, great new videos...

- Lindsay

8/10/11

Shout out to Alyson

I recently did our Take a Dip program with a very excited and enthusiastic woman named Alyson. Turned out she follows our blog and has been a faithful follower since the very beginning! [Read the first post from April of 2008 here.]




Hearing this has definitely made me excited about blogging all over again. Thank you, Alyson, for supporting us and I hope we can continue to spark your interest in our marine mammals!


Stay tuned...




8/9/11

No first-day jitters for this sea lion

A little while ago we introduced you to the Aquarium's two new sea lion pups. Sierra and Zoe, the California sea lion pups that have moved into the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, are both playful and energetic (very energetic!), but Sierra is the more adventurous and inquisitive.




Sierra, the California sea lion pup, interacts with a visitor.


When the two sea lion pups were in quarantine, it was always Sierra who would run over to check out whatever new object or toy the trainers brought into the room. On her first full day on exhibit, Sierra remained true to form.









Sierra stayed at the window with these two boys for quite a while.

She played, she checked out everyone who was checking her out, and then, in true young-pup fashion, she slept.




Nap time.