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!

 

Patty slapped some of the shamrock-shaped gelatin pieces on to the glass wall for the sea lions to find.

Visitors and fur seals alike were curious about the activity.

But the fur seals were decidedly "meh" about the jello.

The sea lions, however, got right in there to explore!

There was lots of sniffing and chewing and tossing and biting of the gelatin.

And visitors had front row seats on the fun!

Kitovi on the computer

Kitovi the youngest fur seal was very curious! Not sure if she found a date, though — wink wink.

Here's wishing you and your Valentine a very sweet long weekend and stay warm! Cozy up on the couch with your laptop and check out all the posts on the Marine Mammal Trainers Blog.

As parts of the East Coast brace for a crippling blizzard, it's fun to distract ourselves by thinking about fun to be had wading in a big pile of snow. Recently the trainers scooped up the white stuff and provided a bit of frosty enrichment for the seals and sea lions in the marine mammal center.

Take a look!

 

The Northern fur seals are perfectly adapted to life in the snow. Their wild habitat ranges from Northern California and up through the chilly climes of Alaska. That thick fur coat that keeps them warm! The California sea lions rely on a layer of blubber to keep them warm.

Even with their cozy cushion, the sea lions were reluctant to romp in the snow this time. But you can always count on the young'uns to have the most fun in the snow. Chiidax and Kitovi were definitely having blast!

Nothing like burying your face in the snow

More fun with snow:

• Last month, we made our own snow for the sea lions
• Of course, how could we forget last year. All. The. Snow.
• Helpful Reminder: Snow is NBD for Northern fur seals 
• The little ones have been playing with snow since they were wee pups 
• Throwing snowballs

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)

Enrichment comes in all shapes and sizes at the Aquarium. Recently we decided to see what the sea lions thought of peas. Yup, tiny, green, frozen, boring little peas. Here's how they reacted.



Not so boring after all! Zoe was really into this tasty activity. Sierra? Not so much. Every animal is different with their own unique personality.

These two.

See what kind of mischief these two have gotten into over the years:

• Whee! Playing in the sprinkler is fun for sea lions too
• Rain drops. Fun times.
• Blowing bubbles is a new kind of awesome.
• Oh, and they can get into shenanigans
• Slip and slide! Dancing! Soccer! Video bonanza

Leu, a rescued Northern fur seal

Leu dove right into the activity, snarfing small fish and squid from the jack-o-lantern

Leu even stuffed his whole head into the pumpkin, and then tried to dribble the gourd into the water!

Zoe, California sea lion

Zoe did not enjoy playing with the pumpkins as much, until...

... the pumpkin splashed into the water. Then there were some curious pumpkin bobbers!

It's Wednesday, the middle of the traditional work week known as Hump Day. Sometimes it can be difficult to get over the hump. Hang on, weekend is almost here!

Leu naps on his favorite enrichment item

To get you through the day, here's a picture of Leu—our rescued fur seal—napping on his favorite enrichment item. It's a half barrel textured with brushes and hoses and floor mat material. You can also call it a hump. Enrichment toys and activities are a great way to keep our marine mammals' brains and bodies active. Of course, here it's also providing a cozy place to rest. Whatever works for you, buddy!

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.

Zoe and Sierra

Kitovi

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

Since the feasts of Thanksgiving, many people are getting outside to work off that turkey and gravy today. Whether you're taking a stroll, hitting the gym, raking or playing an informal game of touch football, there are plenty of ways to get active.

Zoe paused just long enough for us to snap a picture.

In fact, play is a great way for kids of all ages to move it! Take the sea lions, for example. Zoe and Sierra are almost always on the move, and they are indeed a playful pair. In honor of Fitness Friday this week, we thought we'd share just one of the ways these gals play.

Sprinkler time!

Zoe appears to love the way sprinklers and hoses feel in her mouth.

This picture shows how limber the sea lions are!

Zoe comes right up to the glass when the sprinkler is on, giving visitors an up-close look at these powerfully playful marine mammals.

The sprinkler isn't always on in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center. This activity is just a periodic form of enrichment that the marine mammal trainers use to keep the seals and sea lions active—both mentally and physically. Of course, we don't expect folks in the colder Northern climes to run outside to play in the sprinkler. But we hope you can get outside to play today—why don't you come see the sea lions play! And we hope it was a happy Thanksgiving for all our readers.

Do they know they are looking at themselves? Do they think it's another animal? You decide.

JELL-O! Check out Leu as he enjoys a game of catch with some solid pieces of gelatin. Stay tuned for another blog showing our sea lions joining in on the fun as well!









~Patty

As animal trainers, one of the most important things we do is build and nurture the relationships that we share with our animals. A great way to do this is through play! Not only does play allow us to build relationships, but it's also a great way to find out what our animals seem to enjoy or find reinforcing. One of the things our resident California sea lions seem to enjoy the most is any type of water play.


Watch the video below to get a behind-the-scenes peek at Zoe and Sierra as they enjoy playtime with a sprinkler that was set up for them by their trainers!



This isn't the first time we've featured the sea lions enjoying some fun under the spray. Watch the sea lions hosing off and having summertime fun in the water, too!

What's one of the best things about winter? Snow days of course!

Check out how Leu, a Northern fur seal, and California sea lions, Zoe and Sierra, spend their snow days. Here's Leu's version of a snowball fight.



Press play to see Zoe and Sierra get a taste of winter.




Snow has provided enrichment for our marine mammals before. Watch Ursula romp in the snow on the deck.

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.



Our marine mammals get lots of enrichment, which helps stimulate their brains as much as their athletic muscles. See more videos of Zoe playing soccer, doing the high jump, learning the crawl stroke and goofing off with a garden hose—all fun and enriching activities that help her stay active!

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!

Wheeeee! The sea lions have found a great way to get moving. Take a look!



Zoe and Sierra race up the ramp and then use it as a water slide on the way back down. You can call it play or you can call it exercise. Whatever you call it, the sea lions and trainers are having a blast!

These young sea lions aren't the only ones who like sliding down the ramp. Check out this video of Ursula the Northern fur seal having a go.

Just one of the many ways we, or in this case mother nature, enrich our seals and sea lions.

As you might have read in older posts, or seen first-hand during one of your trips to the Aquarium, we often do enrichment sessions throughout the day with our seals. These are outside of our regular training sessions and allow us to interact with the seals using different "puzzles" and toys.


Northern fur seal at the Aquarium
Photo: N. Lipski

We've recently been trying to brainstorm some new ways to enrich the seals, so we decided to bring back an old favorite - Jello! We set it up in a similar fashion to the ice piles (that you might have seen in Lindsay's post here). We filled different molds with unflavored gelatin, cut it up into small pieces to put in a pile, and even hid some pieces of smelt or squid in for an added bonus.

As you can see in the video below, Roxie really got into this, diving into the Jello piles like she was in a pie eating contest! Sometimes she even pushed the small pieces of fish away to get to larger pieces of Jello. Being one of our visually impaired animals, this is a really great way to do enrichment with her because she can use her vibrissae (whiskers) to search through the Jello to find the fish, or just to find bigger pieces of Jello to eat!



- Erin W.