The sea lions wanted in on the snow-making action. Watch!

Trying to get that perfect shot of a young, curious fur seal can be a bit challenging at times. Chiidax, one of our 2 year old fur seals, is especially hard to catch on camera.  I have a TON of clear shots up his nose, but just a couple straight on.  Here are my 3 favorites...

   

I was proud it took only about 20 tries before I finally got one of him straight on!

Perfect!

Some people still have to work on major holidays, but it can still be a really fun day if you're a seal trainer!  Even though the aquarium is closed to the public, the animals still need to be taken care of.
Starting bright and early, we clean and prep all the seals' diets for the day. 

Some have a tough time adjusting to the earlier than usual schedule... wakie wakie, Commander!

On Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, we operate on a shorter than usual staff and are so thankful for the dedicated volunteers who offer to come in and help us out. A HUGE thank you to those guys for helping our day run smooth. In fact, the day was so seamless, we were able to do some major holiday enrichment...



As you can see, we really went all out. For the health of the animals, we are always very careful about what we provide for the seals and sea lions during these enrichment activities. So we picked out a sampling of the seals' favorites (ice chips, jello, fish, squid and toys, to name a few!) and made a cornucopia for the fur seals, harbor seals and sea lions!

Thanksgiving staff: Marie, Vanessa, Lindsay

Superstar volunteers: Kyle B, Kyle D, Marissa

Zoe gets her nose in the toys in the marine mammal center

• Thanksgiving with the seals always involves fun toys!
• What is a flurkey? The trainers explain
• It's business as usual in the Penguin Exhibit on Thanksgiving
• While the animals digested their feast, the divers got to have a little fete of their own 
• This big gal always gets a Thanksgiving feast

Since our Who's Who series about the fur seals and sea lions was so popular, here's another Who's Who blog, as requested! This time we are going to help you learn how to distinguish the true seals—the harbor seals—apart from one another.

Atlantic harbor seal (guess who!)

There are six Atlantic harbor seals in the exhibit in front of the Aquarium. They are part of a group of marine mammals called true seals, sometimes referred to as earless seals. Since the male harbor seals are the same size as the females, it makes it a bit harder to tell the two boys apart from the four girls.

First, let's start by identifying the two different families. There is Trumpet, her son Chacoda and daughter Cayenne. All three have very distinctive black spots on their bellies, necks and faces. Be sure not to lump Lana, the only seal not related to anyone in this exhibit, in with these guys; she has more of a dark grey freckled belly. Then, there are brother-and-sister pair, Reggae and Amelia—both have more of a creamier, non-spotted look to their bellies and chests.

Let's break this down a little more:

Amelia

Amelia is the only seal with a belly that is totally spot free and cream colored. She has almond-shaped eyes and can be frequently seen taking a nap on the bottom of the exhibit in the shallow end in front of the rocks.


Trumpet has a lighter coat with dispersed black, dash-like spots. She has these marks on her belly, chest, neck and both cheeks. She has narrow, almond-shaped eyes and swims more than rests.

Cayenne

Cayenne, compared to the others, is the smallest seal on exhibit. As well as being the most petite, she also has the boldest spots. These black spots are on her belly, chest and neck. She has large black freckles on her cheeks as well. She is most comfortable in the shallow end of the exhibit and will sometimes interact with visitors after hours through the glass.

Chacoda

Chacoda (or Chuck, as we call him), has a mottled black/grey/brown belly, chest, neck and face. He also has a square head like Reggae, but isn't as large. He has almond shaped eyes.










Come test your skills identifying these marine mammals. Plan a visit to the Aquarium and get to know our endearing plaza ambassadors, the harbor seals.
— Lindsay

Just a little cuteness for TBT...enjoy!

Last time we went over some ways to distinguish the Northern fur seals from the California sea lions in our marine mammal center. Today, we're going to learn how to identify each animal. 

Step two: Let's talk size

Once you know which species you're looking at, the next way to narrow it down is by size. Some of our animals are still growing, so this will change as they get older.

Let's start with the Northern fur seals. Currently, from largest to smallest, there's Commander, followed by Ursula, Chiidax and finally Kitovi. Adult males can grow up to 600 pounds! This is why Commander is the largest. He is currently our only adult male. In comparison, adult females, like Ursula, reach only 100–120 pounds when full grown. Chiidax turned 2 years old this year. It won't be long before he's bigger than the adult females. Because of this, size is not the only way to tell our animals apart.

Our two California sea lions, Zoe and Sierra, are both smaller than Commander, but larger than all the rest of the fur seals. Female California sea lions average around 250 pounds when full grown. At 5 years old, Sierra and Zoe are young adults just under 200 pounds.

Step three: Individual characteristics

The last way to narrow down who's who, is by a few distinguishing characteristics. It can take some time to pick up on differences. Here are a few that the training staff has picked out:

Commander

In addition to being the largest on exhibit, he has longer hair on the back on his neck.

Ursula

Ursula has a light patch of fur on her chest, and medium length whiskers.

Chiidax vs. Kitovi
These are our two smallest fur seals.  They both have black whiskers and lighter patches of fur on the chest and cheeks.

Chiidax has longer ears that stick way out. He is stocky and little larger than Kitovi.

Kitovi is more petite and sleek looking.

Sierra vs. Zoe
These two may be the most challenging to tell apart, even for their trainers. They are the same age and look very similar physically.

Zoe is currently the heavier of the two. If you get a good look at her face (good luck, she is rarely still unless sleeping) you may notice a dip in her snout before the end of her nose.

Sierra has a slightly flatter nose.

Even though our sea lions look a lot alike, they have very distinct personalities, mannerisms and even vocalizations. As trainers, we spend a lot of time getting to know our animals and use these in addition to their physical characteristics to tell them apart.

Watch and listen to this video to hear the difference between the vocalizations of Sierra and Zoe.



Now that you know what to look for, test your skills and see if you can tell who is who during your next visit to the Aquarium!

— Vanessa and Lindsay

Here's question we often get at the Marine Mammal Center: how do we tell our animals apart?

This blog is meant to help you do just that. Follow along for some helpful hints you can use next time you visit our flippered friends! The Marine Mammal Center exhibit is home to two California sea lions and seven Northern fur seals.

Step one: Which species?

Are you looking at a fur seal or a sea lion? This can be tricky because Northern fur seals and California sea lions share characteristics that land them both in a category called eared seals! There are many ways that sea lions are similar to the fur seals, but where they differ will help you decipher who is who.

So what's the major difference? FUR! The Northern fur seals at the Aquarium generally have a darker color to their fur than the sea lions. When they are wet, fur seals look black, while the sea lions look brown.

Fur seals

Sea lions

When dry, the fur seals lounging on the deck at the marine mammal center look more brown, and their sea lion neighbors will look a golden brown or blonde color.

Fur seals

Sea lions

Another noticeable difference is the size of the hind flippers. Fur seals have a lot of extra cartilage on their flippers past the bone. This allows them to reach anywhere they need to with their giant flippers in order to groom their fur coat. After all, fur seals have the second thickest coat of fur on the planet. Sea lions have hair as well, but it doesn't need as much maintenance because they rely mostly on blubber to keep warm instead of fur. This means that sea lions don't need such long hind flippers.

This photo shows the hind flippers of a Northern fur seal.

This photo shows the hind flippers of a California sea lion.

Looking at the photos of sea lions vs. fur seals, can you find any other ways to tell them apart?

If you can tell the sea lions apart, you’ve reached expert level in seal identification. Tune in tomorrow for more tips that'll help you determine who's who.

Smoke mid-molt

At the New England Aquarium, Atlantic harbor seals molt July/August, California sea lions molt Sept/Oct, and the Northern fur seals molt Oct/Nov. It is most obvious on the harbor seals, as you can see patches of old and new hair.  

See the sea lions—sleeping and splashing. Plan a visit and buy ticket online—no service charge.

Don't you just love going through old pictures? We stumbled on this one of Zoe and Sierra having a powerfully cuddly nap and we got a laugh. These two had a whole dry deck in this behind-the-scenes area but they opted for the perch and pig-pile approach on the side ledge.

Zoe and Sierra know how to cuddle

These two sea lions are definitely a tactile pair, almost always touching during nap time, rarely a flipper's distance apart when playing. The fur seals, on the other hand, are much more independent. They may be near each other but they definitely maintain their personal space—even while napping underwater.

If you think this is cute, check out these pics:

• See more snoozing sea lions
• And on the other side of the spectrum, check out some sea lion shenanigans
• Zoe playing with the hose, again
• Catching bubbles in their mouths
• Solving puzzles together

More playtime with Zoe! More gushing water from a hose. But this time it's in slow motion. Enjoy!



By now you know that Zoe loves playing with hose so it's a regular activity during sea lion enrichment time. It appears that she enjoys the gush of the water in her mouth.
The hoses in the exhibit can run fresh and salt water, but the sea lions seem to prefer the feel of fresh water in their mouths. But don't forget, they don't need the freshwater for drinking. They get all the hydration they need from their fishy meals.



Check out this list of fun times with the sea lions:

• Most recently, Zoe cuddled the hose in the water
• The sea lions regularly wrestle with the hose in the exhibit
• Sometimes they played with the hose on deck
• And then there's that time they tried to drag the hose behind the scenes
• Even frisking around under a sprinkler (attached to a hose) is good fun for these two

We've seen it before. The sea lions just love to play around with the hose.

Well, it happened again. During an enrichment session, the trainers offered a gushing hose to the boisterous sea lions and they took it and swam with it. Just watch...



While the pair was splashing around behind-the-scenes, Zoe created her own fountain. It's fun to watch her figure out how to hold the hose just right so the water falls directly into her mouth. Sierra  sidled up to get in on the action too.

Interestingly, the hoses in the exhibit can run fresh and salt water. The sea lions seem to prefer the feel of fresh water in their mouths. But they don't need the freshwater for drinking. They get all the hydration they need from their fishy meals.

Check out this list of fun times with the sea lions:

• That time they wrestled with the hose in the exhibit
• That time they played with the hose on deck
• That time they tried to drag the hose behind the scenes
• That time they frisked around under a sprinkler (attached to a hose)

Reggae and his trainer Marie are working on some exciting—and quite refreshing—new skills this summer. Marie is working with him underwater! Here's a short clip to show you what it's like.



Of course, kissing is just a fun way for the trainer and seal to connect during a training session. But working with a seal underwater and helping him become comfortable with the trainer in this element could open up a whole new way to observe the animals in their exhibit.

Come check out the harbor seal training sessions this summer! You might just see Reggae and his trainer eye-to-eye underwater.

Ursula (foreground) and Chiidax and Kitovi (L to R behind her)

Note the two lumps of sea lion lazing in the deeper part of the pool

In the background you can see the sea lions, Zoe and Sierra, logging at the surface. Sea lions sometimes sleep in the water but they don't jug handle. Sometimes they "sail" with a front and/or rear flipper straight up in the air while their body floats. Another difference between the sea lions and fur seals: blubber versus fur. The sea lions have a nice layer of blubber to stay warm, and the fur seals rely on their super-thick fur coats—even when wet.

When they're not relaxing in the pool, these animals are definitely a rambunctious crew. Check out some of their antics in these blog posts:

• The sea lions even make eating peas look like fun 
• Silly Sierra likes to stick her tongue out 
• Like many of us, the sea lions like to play in the sprinkler 
• And when you can't handle the heat, think about all the snow the seals played in last winter 

Big, handsome fella

Commander with one of his trainers, Lindsay

Commander's trainers say he is very smart and attentive as they work with him to build new relationships and routines in his new home. He's also learning new skills that will help with his husbandry.

Take a bow! We'd like a closer look at that flipper, please.