Many folks are up early with long shopping lists today. But the sea lions here at the Aquarium are just looking to have some fun and burn off a little energy. As we've covered in previous posts (like this one about play time with a hose or this one introducing this friendly pair), Zoe and Sierra are a frenetic pair—always moving, always exercising!
Zoe continues her active capers in this video. Watch as she glides around the exhibit and has a little fun in the process.
If you think meet and greets are dull, work-related affairs where people try to network while eating mediocre hors d’ouevres, you’ve never done a meet and greet with our Northern fur seals!
The sea lion pups are almost always moving. Case and point, you can see the pups staying active during play as they chase and catch a hose in
this video. They are attracted to any activity that involves running
water from a hose.
Being so active means that they need to consume a lot of calories every day. Zoe and Sierra
are not quite a year and a half old and they eat about 16 pounds of
fish every day. This adds up to approximately 5,000 calories daily!
What activities keep you moving? Comment below using Facebook or Blogger!
Sports are an excellent way to get movin', not to mention they're fun! Ursula has learned how to play soccer, while Belinda has perfected a mean spike.
Fur seals and sea lions frequently manipulate toys and other
items with their front flippers. In this video Ursula is learning to play
soccer with one of the trainers.
Stretching is a very important part of an exercise regimen—even Baranov knows that! Watch the steps I took to teach him how to prep that big neck of his for an intense seal workout:
1. I introduced the signal — a tap on the right side of his neck — and lead his head in a wide roll with my hand as a target.
2. I gave the signal and instead of using a hand target to lead his head around, I brushed his whiskers. I needed to fade out my target hand all together. He's getting the hang of it! So I think he's ready for the next step.
3. I give the signal, and instead of leading is head around by my hand, I tap his other side as his head his coming around. This lets him know where his head needs to go—around the bend towards the tap.
(Since Baranov is a sight-impaired animal, he is really responsive to tactile direction.)
4. Lastly, I take that leap and give him the signal with out extra information.
It's so cool to see that he put it all together!!
— Lindsay
Check out our other New Balance Foundation Fitness Friday posts! Watch how Isaac managed to learn an impressive flipper stand, and see Ursula zip across the pool with a little speed swimming.
