Our California sea lions and Northern fur seals certainly love to play. Some of their favorites are getting a water massage, holiday festivities, and enjoying a snow day!
Kitovi, a 2-year-old Northern fur seal, likes to play with bubbles. Here she is getting a daily dose of fun with a cascade of chocolate scented bubbles!
Marine Mammal Trainers
Showing posts with label Kitovi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kitovi. Show all posts
5/20/16
2/13/16
Seals Love
For the wellbeing of the animals in our care, the seals and sea lions learn to participate in ultrasounds with our vet staff. One of the first steps in preparing for this is introducing them to any objects they may be unfamiliar with. A lap top looks very similar to our ultrasound machine, so introducing our younger animals to this through play is a great way to begin.
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| Kitovi on the computer |
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, the trainers did a play on the Plenty of Fish dating website!
Kitovi the youngest fur seal was very curious! Not sure if she found a date, though — wink wink.
11/19/15
7/7/15
Three jugs and two lugs
Whether you're on a raft or a ring or simply bobbing at the surface, who doesn't love a relaxing float in the pool? When the seals and sea lions need a rest, they often take to the pool, too. And that's when you can see a really cool fur seal posture called jug handling. Holding their flippers together, away from their body resembles the handle of a jug or pitcher.
Exhibit A.
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| Ursula (foreground) and Chiidax and Kitovi (L to R behind her) |
Jug handling lets the fur seals regulate their body temperature when floating in the 60 F water. You see, the seals have many veins running through their flippers and these veins contain a heated blood supply. By tucking their flippers together in a flipper sandwich and keeping them out of the water, the seals keep the heat from rapidly leaving their flippers and body.
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| 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
6/9/14
Playing with their food
It wasn't so long ago that Kitovi was learning how to eat fish after months of nursing her mom's milk. But just like human babies, eating solid food was a skill that took some practice. It was up to her mom, Ursula, to show her the ropes.
Here's a video of Ursula tossing her food about, ripping the fish into pieces while Kitovi follows her lead.
One indication that this was a teaching session was because of the type of fish being tossed: herring. Ursula usually doesn't give herring the time of day. But here she was throwing it about, mouthing it and showing some interest. The trainers know better. This was likely Ursula tolerating her least-favorite fish just to show Kit how to eat fish.
Kit is now eating fish like the fur seal she is. Look for her and the band of frisky youngsters in the marine mammal center! There's Leu, Flaherty, Chiidax, Zoe and Sierra. Of course, don't forget about the wise elders of the group: Isaac, Ursula and Roxie.
Here's a video of Ursula tossing her food about, ripping the fish into pieces while Kitovi follows her lead.
One indication that this was a teaching session was because of the type of fish being tossed: herring. Ursula usually doesn't give herring the time of day. But here she was throwing it about, mouthing it and showing some interest. The trainers know better. This was likely Ursula tolerating her least-favorite fish just to show Kit how to eat fish.
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| Oh, those eyes, Kitovi! |
Kit is now eating fish like the fur seal she is. Look for her and the band of frisky youngsters in the marine mammal center! There's Leu, Flaherty, Chiidax, Zoe and Sierra. Of course, don't forget about the wise elders of the group: Isaac, Ursula and Roxie.
5/6/14
Happy Tuesday from Kit
We thought this picture of our Northern fur seal pup, Kit, would make your day.
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| A whole handful of cute |
Kitovi, or Kit as we like to call her, was born here at the Aquarium last August. She's been learning a lot from her mom Ursula and still every bit as cute as her newborn pictures. While she's more petite than fellow fur seal pup Chiidax, she's certainly able to hold her own among the rough-and-tumble crowd.
Come visit the marine mammal center and see if you can spot this endearing little lady among the boisterous crew of fur seals and sea lions!
2/13/14
Kitovi and Chiidax have a snow day
With fur as thick as a Northern fur seal, near-zero temperatures and snow storms pose no problem for the Northern fur seals at the New England Aquarium. In fact, they can be quite fun.
Kitovi and Chiidax, our newest additions to the Aquarium's Northern fur seal colony, are currently behind the scenes, but this did not stop these two 6 month old seals from enjoying their very own snow day! While humans everywhere stayed home to brave the storm, these two babies, especially Chiidax, discovered how much fun piles of frosty flakes can be.
Chiidax, a rescued Northern fur seal from Alaska, has grown quite a bit since arriving at the Aquarium a couple months ago—you can hardly recognize him!
Watch how Kitovi and Chiidax play in the snow. At first they don’t quite know what to make of the giant pile of snow, but they quickly figure out that it’s fun new toy.
Kitovi and Chiidax are not the only seals to enjoy a good snowy romp, check out some of the antics of Leu and Ursula.
Stay warm everyone!
-Marie
Kitovi and Chiidax, our newest additions to the Aquarium's Northern fur seal colony, are currently behind the scenes, but this did not stop these two 6 month old seals from enjoying their very own snow day! While humans everywhere stayed home to brave the storm, these two babies, especially Chiidax, discovered how much fun piles of frosty flakes can be.
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| Kitovi |
Chiidax, a rescued Northern fur seal from Alaska, has grown quite a bit since arriving at the Aquarium a couple months ago—you can hardly recognize him!
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Kitovi and Chiidax
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Kitovi and Chiidax are not the only seals to enjoy a good snowy romp, check out some of the antics of Leu and Ursula.
Stay warm everyone!
-Marie
12/26/13
Seals in a Bubbly Wonderland
Instead of snow, there’s something else falling from the sky
- - Bubbles!
Zoe, a California sea lion, and Kitovi (Kit), one of our young Northern Fur seals, are enjoying a Bubbly Wonderland!
You can see that Zoe prefers to catch the bubbles in her mouth and Kit who is just a few weeks old in this video just gazes at the bubbles falling from the sky.
Bubbles are just one of the many ways that we engage our
seals and sea lions in enrichment.Check out some of the many ways we interact with our seals and sea lions through play from rain drops, jello, light reflections, ice toys . . . . the list is endless!
Be safe and have happy holidays everyone!!
-Marie
Zoe, a California sea lion, and Kitovi (Kit), one of our young Northern Fur seals, are enjoying a Bubbly Wonderland!
You can see that Zoe prefers to catch the bubbles in her mouth and Kit who is just a few weeks old in this video just gazes at the bubbles falling from the sky.
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| Zoe and Sierra |
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| Kitovi |
Be safe and have happy holidays everyone!!
-Marie
10/2/13
Exploring the Exhibit with Kit
Kitovi the Northern fur seal isn't even two months old yet, and she's already on the move! After her bashful public debut, some lucky visitors to the Aquarium's open-air exhibit can now see this energetic pup splashing about the public side of the marine mammal center. She spends time swimming, grooming and exploring the main exhibit with all the other seals.
When you see her next to adults (like her mum Ursula below), you can tell Kit still has a lot of growing to do. So she spends a lot of time behind the scenes with her Ursula, feeding and playing and learning how to be a fur seal. You might also catch her nursing (more on that later).
But for the lucky folks that get to Kitovi in the main exhibit, it's a real treat to see her on move. Here's a look at Kitovi in the pool, on the rocks and on the deck. You can bet Ursula is never far—what a good mom!
Kit was born in August and she's definitely made her mark in the media. Check out some of the deliciously cute pictures of her growing up!
When you see her next to adults (like her mum Ursula below), you can tell Kit still has a lot of growing to do. So she spends a lot of time behind the scenes with her Ursula, feeding and playing and learning how to be a fur seal. You might also catch her nursing (more on that later).
But for the lucky folks that get to Kitovi in the main exhibit, it's a real treat to see her on move. Here's a look at Kitovi in the pool, on the rocks and on the deck. You can bet Ursula is never far—what a good mom!
Kit was born in August and she's definitely made her mark in the media. Check out some of the deliciously cute pictures of her growing up!
- Newborn Kit was just about the cutest thing to hit eyeballs near and far
- Video of Kit's bashful debut showed how she tested the water
- Kit's first foray in the public exhibit drew plenty of oohs and awwws
- Kit's frisky big brother Flaherty is just a year older
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