It's always more fun to get your exercise with friends than by yourself. At least our Northern fur seal pups, Leu and Flaherty, seem to feel that way. In the video below, you can see the two youngsters playing a kind of king of the hill game in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, with Flaherty on deck and Leu in the water. The two are pushing and shoving much like seals and sea lions do in the wild.
In this video, Flaherty is trying to defend the high ground of the deck. See what happens and who ends up being king of the deck.
As you can see, this jousting involves open-mouth playful grabs and lunges. You could say it's the seal version of arm wrestling and probably helps them learn how to protect themselves and their territory. You can also see who gets the last laugh—Isaac!
If you've visited the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center recently, you've seen Leu, our young rescued fur seal, porpoising through the water with fluid grace, frolicking on the rocks and sending balls zipping across the deck with a quick flick of his flipper. Leu definitely has some moves!
But Leu didn't come to the Aquarium with his fancy flipper work. As you can see in this video, Kathy is working patiently with Leu to develop those skills. And like most of us, Leu had to do a lot of practicing before he started looking like he could take the field with the Revolution.
The Atlantic harbor seals that reside in the exhibit on the Aquarium Plaza can often be spotted bobbing in the water, napping or playing with toys. Sometimes you can catch them during a group lap swim!
In this post, we explain how the harbor seals and fur seals use very different techniques to glide through the water. The fur seals use their long, flexible front flippers to propel themselves through the water. The harbor seals use their hind flippers and body to glide through the water, their short front flippers are used more for navigation.
Visitors love interacting with the seals on the Aquarium's Plaza.
Come by to watch the seals in action at the New England Aquarium. Pay attention to see how they move through the water, then head inside to compare the harbor seal swim with our fur seals and sea lions. There are many different ways to get moving, and that's OK. Just stay active!
Last week we showed you how Leu is learning some of the components of our fun fur seal obstacle course. He's just a little guy so he has a long way to go. But the mature fur seals, that's another story. In this picture you can see one of the svelte female fur seals scaling a speed bump and preparing to go under a limbo bar.
Believe it or not, the seals seem to enjoy these physical and mental challenges. It's all part of keeping our fur seals healthy and happy.
After yesterday's Thanksgiving feasts, it's a good day to get active and burn some energy! Go for a walk, throw the football around or even create an obstacle course for you and some friends. If you need some inspiration, check out these obstacle course challenges from when Aquarium staffers took on the fur seals! Who's Tougher? Triathlon Triumph Water Hoops and Limbo In Balance
Here at the Aquarium we celebrate Thanksgiving a little differently. Instead of preparing a meal full of turkey, we get here bright and early to make a fishy feast for the seals!
And instead of playing football, Zoe and Sierra, are having fun playing with their own mountain of frosty toys, ice cubes, and jello.
And the day would not be complete without a little bonus for the trainers!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
We're thankful for your support. The animals couldn't enjoy their Thanksgiving feast without you.
One of our little guys is joining the big kids at school! Leu has started working with trainers to learn some new skills. These training sessions are as much to keep the seals and sea lions active and fit as to keep their brains sharp. Leu is practicing the limbo with Paul right now.
This limbo skill isn't simply a fun activity. It's one piece of an obstacle course that we like to show off on Fitness Fridays. Maybe you remember our Northern fur seals competing against people in some obstacle course challenges? Little by little, Leu will learn the skills and he'll be able to compete in the races, too.
We talk a lot about the sea lions and their antics. But they're not the only youngsters! Leu (the Northern fur seal pup rescued earlier this year) and Flaherty (the pup born to Ursula in July) are growing up and testing out their new-found strength on the deck and in the water.
Play is an important part of an active lifestyle. Sometimes it means being on a sports team, sometimes it means just kicking the ball around with a friend. If you're a fur seal, it means rough housing, pretending you're an adult male fur seal protecting your territory.
For Leu and Flaherty, play continues until they get tired or Flaherty's mom, Ursula, breaks things up (as you saw in the video). He's is still a baby protected under her watchful eye. But Flaherty's growing fast. If you want to see this little guy before he grows to be as big as his dad Isaac, you better come visit the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center!
Those sea lions, always up to something. Most recently they tore through the exhibit in a high-energy game of keep away, just another example of how you can get good exercise with some fun and games. And here, Exhibit A.
Zoe and Sierra really took porpoising to new levels with this game. It's amazing to watch them fly through the air and zip through the water. Check out more videos of them in action here, here and here.
You may have noticed the wall flowers in the background—the mature fur seals were having none of the young sea lions games. But did you hear Baranov whickering in the background? He seemed to be defending his patch of deck from the other male, Isaac, and those rascally pups.
Exercise comes in many shapes, sizes and species sometimes. For your Fitness Friday enjoyment today, we give you marine mammal trainer Kathy playing catch with Zoe, the California sea lion.
It's been well-established that the sea lions are an active pair here, here, here and here. Sometimes they're so lightning-fast it's hard to see them! We thought we'd take a moment to slow things down a bit and see just how athletic this pair is.
Let's take porpoising, for example. Porpoising is when an animals leaps out of the water while swimming. Penguins do it. The harbor seals do it. So do the sea lions! Can you see how Zoe and Sierra take a big stroke with their front flippers to propel themselves out of the water?
It takes agility in the water, strength to leap into the air and, of course, a lot of spunk to make it look so easy and fun! So come by to see the sea lions. Don't blink and you might just see them get some air!
As you probably gathered from the video posted in this entry, our youngest fur seals—Flaherty and Leu—are best buddies. They play with each other all day long (when they're not napping, that is, puppies have to nap). The fur seal pups get into all sorts of activities, like running, swimming, playing king of the rock. Well... you'll see. Just check out our home movies.
On Fitness Fridays we like to point out ways our marine mammals are staying active. Running, swimming and playing are all parts of an active lifestyle, which is a key part of staying healthy. Here at the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, we start that healthy lifestyle young.
High five!
Newborn Flaherty from earlier this summer. He's much bigger now, but just as adorable!
Our youngest fur seal is over two months old now! Oh how time flies. And Flaherty is getting bigger, stronger and learning new stuff every day, like swimming. Take a look to see how he's working on his stroke.
Flaherty and his mom Ursula still enjoy quiet time behind the scenes, but they are logging some very cute hours in the exhibit. Keep an eye out for the little guy during your next visit, you might get lucky!
Even the harbor seals get in on the activities on Fitness Friday. Reggae here is stretching his flippers with a toy. It looks like he's doing a workout with a medicine ball. Or is he playing tetherball with himself? Ah, you decide, just take a look.
Harbor seals may not gallop about their exhibit like the sea lions and fur seals. With shorter flippers, they get around in a much different way. (Compare the two modes of locomotion on land in this post. They even swim in different ways!)
There's a lot that kids can learn from their parents, such as healthy eating habits and making exercise a part of every day. Ursula is already teaching her little guy Flaherty how to get around the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center with graceful swimming strokes and casual lopes around the deck.
Visit the seals and sea lions at the Aquarium and you might catch a glimpse of this youngster swimming with his pal, Leu, or getting some good advice from his mom.
Our new baby fur seal has been exploring the main exhibit at the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center recently. Flaherty (who got his name from Walter Flaherty, the Aquarium's VP and COO) is still pretty young—not yet two months old—and weighs in at only 27 pounds. He's still getting his sea legs, too, so to speak. Sometimes it takes him a while to get up the courage to take the plunge. Take a look.
Like our little pup, sometimes it takes a little mental pep-talk to take the leap into an exercise routine. Just remember it's all worth it in the end. Whee!
After a good work-out, there's nothing like a relaxing shower—even if you're a sea lion! Zoe and Sierra enjoy a good hose down after a training session with Kathy. Even Leu, the Northern fur seal, gets in on the action. Ahhhh...
In all seriousness, the young sea lion and fur seal pups love to play around with the hose. It's not because they're thirsty, it's actually a form of enrichment. Sea lions get all the hydration they need from the fish they eat. So they are probably enjoying the feeling of the spray on their thick coats or tickling their throats. And who doesn't on a hot summer day!
It's hard to believe that fall is right around the corner when we're still sweating through scorching summer heat here in New England. But that just means there's still time to have fun in the water!
The fountains on the Greenway are a fun way to cool off in the summer!
After leaving the cool, shady Aquarium, many visitors head straight over to the Rose Kennedy Greenway fountains. Not only do they provide a little escape from the heat, they're a really fun way to get active!
Zoe and Sierra like to mess around with their own kind of water fountain — a regular old garden hose. Watch how they romp and engage with this refreshing toy with Leu, the Northern fur seal pup.
Whether you're a kid or a sea lion, dashing through sprinklers and fountains is a great way to stay active and cool in the summer.
We recently saw how our California sea lion Zoe could really get some air during her training session with Kathy. Well now it's Sierra's turn to show off. She's been working with Justin on a high porpoising skill. What do you think? Pretty high, right?
We thought this was a great skill to include in our Fitness Friday series because it highlights the strength and fitness of our sea lions. Sierra has to get a good swimming start, then she has to spring into the air. Quite the spectacle. You can bet she's staying cool in the pool, too!
Two years ago, I had the opportunity to join in a research trip to St. Paul, Alaska with a group of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In case you missed my words of wisdom from that trip, here is the start of the eight blogs about that experience.
This year, I was thrilled when the researchers and my bosses gave me the green light to go again! (Clearly I am just a little bit excited.) This biennial research trip involves a study of Northern fur seals to determine the population of the largest breeding colony in the United States. What makes the trip even more dynamic is the fact that we have a brand new addition to our Marine Mammal Department… a baby Northern fur seal! Ursula gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Tuesday, July 10, 2012. [Learn more about this special event here, and see video of little guy here.]
So this time around, I thought it would be really interesting to compare the growth and development of Ursula's pup to those that I will see on the island of St. Paul. Already Ursula's pup is three weeks old and he changes everyday.
I will be sending along some quick blogs while we are out on the island. When I return I will be posting some video showing you the changes our own pup at the Aquarium has gone through as he grows in comparison with the pups on the island. In the meantime, here is a video I put together after my first trip to St. Paul that gives you a small taste of the what I have the opportunity to see and experience on this amazing trip. Enjoy!
All images and video taken during this research study were authorized by the Marine Mammal Protection Act Permit # 14327.
Sea lions have to swim fast to catch fish and jump 15 feet off the surface to escape a predator. Zoe's natural swimming stroke gets her up to 25 miles per hour in short bursts, easily leaving Michael Phelps in the bubbles. If Michael should come to visit, Zoe's trainer is teaching her a crawl stroke so the race would be fair.
Zoe needs more practice with this silly human swimming stroke, but her coaches know she'll nail it!
Zoe's mischievous tendencies can often be channeled toward impressive acrobatic skills. All it takes is one of our experienced trainers, some patience and a lot of fish! Watch how Kathy guides Zoe to higher and higher jumps, with some breaks for fish treats along the way. (This type of training through approximations is known as shaping.)
Zoe shows off her jumping skills during a recent training session.
Zoe's pal, Sierra, has mastered some impressive skills of her own, too. Check out her spin moves here. And stay tuned to see what kind of air Sierra can get in the water!
During these steamy summer months, many families take the plunge to cool off in a community swimming pool, a pond or river, the ocean or even in a backyard kiddy pool. There's just nothing like splashing around in the water to cool off!
If you've seen them zip through the water, you know these gals are expert swimmers. Sea lions learn to swim when they're only a few weeks old, and they grow up to be among the fast marine mammals in the oceans today, reaching speeds of up to 25 miles per hour! They have to be speedy to stay one step ahead of predators in the wild.
While not all of us can swim as well as Zoe and Sierra, it's always refreshing to watch them make some waves. Come on down and marvel at the aquatic acrobats at the Aquarium. And as you're looking to cool off at the water's edge this summer, just keep in mind a few water safety tips:
Always make sure you swim with an adult or a buddy
Keep an eye on the weather
Swim only in safe areas, beware of waves and dangerous currents
During these hot summer days, it's always fun to look back at some really cool competitions between the fur seals and some of the leadership at the Aquarium. Remember when Bud took on Isaac to see who could swim for more toys?
Tough Mudder competition: Billy raises his hand during Patty's introduction
This time we're going to see who can cruise through the Tough Mudder style obstacle course first — Billy Spitzer, PhD, Vice President of Planning, Programs and Exhibits, or Ursula, clever fur seal extraordinaire.
We'll have some more Tough Mudder competitions coming up. It's a fun way to see how the agile fur seals stack up against the athletic staff at the Aquarium in speed swimming, triathlons and more. Stay tuned!
How does Reggae help us cool down on a brutal summer day in Boston?
-Lindsay
Overheated? Think getting to know the harbor seals looks like fun? Here's how you can Take a Dip with the Seals! Immersed in water up to your waist, you'll be able to get up close to these curious, playful and intelligent animals. Who knows, you might get one of Reggae's water baths, too! If you're into that kind of thing, of course.
There's no question that summer has definitely arrived. Temperatures are expected to soar into the 90s this weekend! Leu, our Northern fur seal pup, can always cool off in the pool during a romp with Sierra. But that's not his only trick to beat the heat. He loves a kiddie pool full of ice cubes, too!
Leu cools off in a pool of ice cubes. Photo: Boston.com
Not only do the ice cubes provide that desired cooling effect, the textures and crunch are a lot of fun! It's just another way to provide enrichment for this growing pup. Watch how he likes to grab an ice cube and take it into the water to play. You'll notice in the video that our more mature fur seals stay cool in the shallow end, grooming and lolling about in the water.
Take a cue from our fur seals and try to keep cool during the toasty weather expected this weekend. The City of Boston also recommends that people drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. While our fur seals don't need to drink fresh water—they get all the hydration they need
from the fish they eat—drinking water is an important part of staying healthy in the heat.
It's tough to work out on a 90-degree day. But if you have a nice big pool and an energetic friend, you can get plenty of exercise. Our new Northern fur seal pup, Leu, and Sierra the California sea lion show you how it's done. Watch them porpoise, tumble in the water, chase each other and generally have a great time.
To continue along with the birthday theme of the summer, we just celebrated Roxie's 22nd birthday on Friday. She is the oldest of all of our fur seals and second oldest in the country. She lives here at the New England Aquarium with 5 other fur seals, including her daughter Ursula, as well as two California sea lions.
Of course we had to celebrate in fashion...with a fish cake, complete with 22 "capelin candles" around the edge!
To make this cake even more delicious we added in some jello, which many of the seals enjoy as part of enrichment or just as an added bonus in their meals—seals naturally get water from the fish they eat, but jello can give them additional hydration as well.
Roxie enjoyed her cake slightly differently than many other seals would. Instead of just diving right in and devouring all of the fish in less than a minute, she used her whiskers to feel around the tray and carefully pick out each individual fish. Now this technique wasn't just used randomly; Roxie actually relies on her whiskers very heavily throughout most parts of her day because she is blind. Her whiskers allow her to pick up additional information such as objects or animals in front of her, or in this case it helps her find the fish.
Check out this video to see how she uses those whiskers to enjoy her cake.
This is the first of a series of posts we want to share about our newest addition to the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center—Leu! This pip-squeak was rescued from a beach in California earlier this year. Since he could not have survived in the wild, he's found a new home with us. While he is getting settled behind the scenes, he continues to make progress or show us something new every day. We wanted to bring you in on the fun!
Like all little ones, and some cool grown ups, Leu loves to play. He tugs on the car wash strips hanging in the background and is initiating games of fetch with some of the toys in the picture. Can you guess what his favorite toys will be?
Leu and his toys
Leu is learning to take fish from his trainer's hand. Feeding this way helps us get a good look at him. Right now, he takes each fish to the water, eats it and pops back up on deck for another.
Kathy feeding Leu
Leu's a growing boy and learning every day. Stay tuned for more installments of What's New With Leu!
What's the best way for a Northern fur seal to celebrate his sweet 16? An icey fish cake, of course! Check out how happy Baranov looks as he devoures his delicious treat:
The birthday boy!
Delicious! It didn't take long for him to chow down.
Happy Fitness Friday, all! While our visitors get good looks at our adult Northern fur seals stretching and speed swimming in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, the youngest member of the Aquarium's pinniped family is still getting big and strong behind the scenes. He'll be joining adult swim very soon. Until then, we thought you'd like to see him in action.
Leu is perfecting his porpoising skills in this clip. Notice how his stamina appears to have improved since we put this post!
Keep watching the Trainers Blog for our special new series of posts we're calling What's New with Leu. Just like human babies, this little guy is learning new skills every day and cultivating quite a charming personality. Stay tuned!
As we've mentioned in many a Fitness Friday post, exercise can come in many shapes and sizes. Leu the tiny fur seal pup gets some exercise playing with his trainers. And Isaac the hulking male fur seal does a little strength training with his front flipper stands.
Today we wanted to point out that our harbor seals and fur seals and sea lions can sometimes get their exercise interacting with the public through the glass! Here you see Cordova, one of our female fur seals leaning against the wall. It takes a lot of strength to hold themselves up there like that!
When the mood strikes them, those whacky sea lions do the same. These two especially like inspecting the colorful stuffed animals held by some of our younger visitors. Many visitors have also enjoyed playing follow the leader with our harbor seals while they bend and bob in their exhibit on the front plaza.
So the next time you visit, you might be lucky to get up close and personal (through the glass) with one of these amazing marine mammals. Take a moment to think about this nifty show of strength and agility in our marine mammals!
By now you've probably heard about our new baby fur seal. He was rescued several months ago from a California beach, underweight, blind in one eye with a patchy coat of fur that couldn't keep him warm. After a fun and successful naming contest, this little guy was named Leu for the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, where Northern fur seals are found in the wild.
Leu has been charming and delighting the marine mammal trainers behind the scenes as he settles into life at the Aquarium. [Learn how the sea lions settled when they first at the Aquarium here.] He has been eating well and is getting stronger stronger every day. In fact, he's even found time to play! Play is a a great way to get your muscles moving and have fun in the process. Just look, little Leu is getting a really fun work out!
Fur seals are fabulous swimmers, and they're pretty athletic all around, but what happens when they compete against humans on dry land? Some Aquarium staff members and friends took the fur seals on in a series of athletic challenges, most of which included some swimming—at which the fur seals excel. But in the event where everyone had to balance on the deck on one hand (flipper) with feet together, bodies forming a sideways T, the humans had the advantage. The last man (or woman or seal) standing would win for his or her team. See what happened in the video below.
We recently celebrated an exciting day at New England Aquarium -- one that is cause for much celebration...it was Lana (the Atlantic harbor seal)'s 30th birthday! To celebrate this occasion we gave her a one of a kind birthday "fish cake," made specially by two of our volunteers, Marie and Marissa.
Fish cake for the birthday girl!
Our seals normally get hand fed a few fish at a time, so imagine Lana's excitement when I set down this platter of fish and let her dig in!
Even when they're not celebrating birthdays, our harbor seals get lots of attention and stimulation from their trainers. We'd love it if you wanted to join us for a free training session one of these days. Get to know our family of harbor seals in their exhibit on the front plaza at the Aquarium!
It seems that everyone wants to challenge the Northern fur seals! After seeing some staff members and supporters go toe to flipper with Isaac, Cordova and Ursula in some Fitness Friday challenges, several of our VPs and our president and CEO decided to get in on the action.
Our President and CEO, Bud Ris, battled Isaac to see who could beautify the water in the New Balance Marine Mammal Center faster by pulling more toys out of the water and placing them on the deck.
Patty introduces (left to right) Bud Ris; Walter Flaherty, Executive Vice President and COO; Joe Zani, Vice President of Finance and Operations; and Billy Spitzer,Vice President of Planning, Programs and Exhibits.
Although Bud did his best to distract Isaac with his splashy dive into the pool, he was hampered by having to wear a bulky wetsuit. Isaac, on the other hand, has the advantage of his sleek fur, which allows him to glide through the water.
Watch the video below to see who won.
As you can see, the fur seals and sea lions in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center are inspiring athletes. Get inspired for your upcoming weekend and learn more about these active marine mammals by looking back at some previous Fitness Friday posts: Compare "landlubbing" harbor seals and fur seals. Ever wonder how well a sea lion plays soccer? Wonder no more. Check out Isaac's feats of strength in this post about learning new skills.
