Marine Mammal Trainers

Reggae the harbor seal recently had a birthday, and the trainers celebrated with a layer "cake" of gelatin and fish. Visitors lucky enough to be by the front plaza exhibit even helped sing him ha...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2016/06/happy-birthday-reggae.html

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-...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2016/05/bubbles-for-kitovi.html

The rescued sea lions at the Aquarium are a curious and energetic pair. So the trainers are always finding new ways to engage and stimulate Zoe and Sierra. When St. Patrick's day rolled around, t...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2016/03/st-patricks-day-enrichment.html

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 the...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2016/02/seals-love.html

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 ...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2016/01/snow-can-be-fun.html

When the calendar flips, the new year is often marked with a few kisses from dear friends and family. Since the seals and sea lions are part of our family, the trainers had to share a couple pict...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2016/01/seal-smooches-for-happy-2016.html

Some of the trainers were dreaming of a white Christmas. Unfortunately, 70 degree weather and snow don't mix, so we had to get creative. That's where the snow cone machine comes in! We had snowme...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/12/no-snow-no-problem.html

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...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/12/picture-perfect.html

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 stil...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/12/thanksgiving-2015-cornucopia-fun-wrap-up.html

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 seal...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/12/whos-who-true-seal-edition.html

Just a little cuteness for TBT...enjoy!

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/11/tbt-baby-kitovi-with-her-baby-pumpkin.html

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.  St...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/11/whos-who-individual-eared-seals.html

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 ...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/11/whos-who-eared-seal-edition.html

Ahh, molt.  The time of year where the fur balls are flying, the seals just want to sleep, and that glorious new coat is slowly, but surely, coming in. Molt season is different for each spec...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/10/molty-time-of-year.html

The Northern fur seals' scientific name is Callorhinus ursinus. Ursinus means "bear-like" and Callorhinus means "beautiful nose".  So you could call them a beautiful-nosed bear and be s...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/10/a-nose-by-any-other-name.html

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 havin...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/10/the-sea-lions-are-serious-cuddlers.html

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 enric...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/09/zoe-gets-mouthful.html

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 ...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/08/hosing-around-with-sea-lions.html

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...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/08/an-underwater-kiss.html

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...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/07/three-jugs-and-two-lugs.html

If you think Commander looks big in pictures, you should see him in real life! Plan a visit to the Aquarium to meet our newest fur seal. Save time and buy your tickets online. As many of our visi...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/04/commander-settling-in.html

You may have seen the rash of #PrattKeeping images being splashed across the internet this week. A casual search for #Prattkeeping will turn up all sorts of trainers interacting with animals It's...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/06/lets-all-go-to-movies.html

This past weekend we celebrated the birthday of Reggae, the dashing Atlantic harbor seal! On May 30, Reggae turned 22. While that may sound old, his mom lived to be 40 years old! Reggae's mi...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/06/reggae-is-birthday-boy.html

Did you see the harbor seals in The Boston Globe this weekend? They were showing off their artistic abilities during a Paint with the Seals program. We do this enriching behavior with the se...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/05/artists-in-news.html

Way back this winter (note the snow, ugh), Chacoda the harbor seal gave visitors a clinic on porpoising. Porpoising is when a seal (or any marine animal) bursts out of the water, usually in a gra...

http://trainers.neaq.org/2015/05/slow-motion-elevation.html