Sea Lions and Their New Program: Update     
By: Michelle Sapp and Nicki Bendicksen; Trainers

Our two newest sea lion family members have been making themselves known and heard around the facility. Raleigh is 14 years old and is determined to learn as much as possible and investigate all of his surroundings. He is an extremely smart boy and loves to be engaged with his trainers. He is always ready to learn new behaviors with his trainers and adlib his own creative ones! Whenever he sees trainers coming out for a session, you can see the anticipation and curiosity from him about what the session is going to entail, and he has often sent a wave of water out of his pool due to his excitement over his trainers coming. Raleigh is currently living in our sea lion habitat with Diamond and Lina, where he is able to explore lagoon life for the first time and watch all of the guests walking around. The three of them are already past the awkward getting-to-know-you period and have started to form strong bonds. Though they all prefer their own space during sessions, they can be seen swimming around the habitat with each other and oftentimes lying on the dock sunbathing together. Raleigh and Lina also enjoy sharing ice on the dock after a session. Being the nephew of our beloved Kilo, it is only fitting that you can often see Raleigh taking a nap or perusing around his habitat just like his uncle. As we move into the sea lion breeding season, known as rut, Raleigh will go through the hormonal changes all male sea lions experience during the summer months. This hormonal shift is not something we are concerned about and since Kilo previously lived with Diamond and Lina, the girls will be familiar with these behaviors.

Clyde is 21 years old and the sweetest gentleman who loves hanging out with his trainers. He is currently living in our medical pool, which has provided him with a stable environment to become super confident and comfortable with his new trainers and home. Clyde has adjusted well to his area as we slowly transition him to the sea lion habitat due to his conditions. Despite being visually impaired, he knows his surroundings well and moves around with ease, making us hopeful he will be successful in future in the lagoons. His trainers have enjoyed getting to know him and are excited to continue building their relationships with this big-hearted guy. Due to his sight impairment, Clyde likes to be up close to his trainers and is very focused on his trainer during sessions. He is an intelligent and playful sea lion that has already learned a new behavior since arriving. With his gentle giant size, his “Back” behavior allows his trainers to ask him to back up to help guide him around and give him space to do some of his many behaviors. His captivating roar can be heard across the facility and puts a smile on everyone's face when they hear it. Clyde also enjoys different enrichment than our other sea lions due to his inability to see. His favorite pastime is playing with the spray from a hose. He loves to swim under it and open his mouth to the running water similar to a dog playing in a sprinkler. 

The addition of these new family members has inspired our newest interactive experience: “Behind-the-Scenes with Sea Lions”. During this experience, guests will shadow a sea lion training session in the sea lion’s habitat, where they will have the opportunity to participate with hand signals and imitations. Depending on the sea lion you have during your program determines what it will be like, and no two sessions are ever the same! Since this experience is very new, we are constantly adapting. Guests will be a part of shaping this new experience with us to create an unforgettable experience. As trainers, we learn how we can better set up our sea lions to participate in each program by finding their strengths and weaknesses and ultimately building a connection when interacting with guests. Program participants have expressed the amazing feeling of being so up close and personal with our sea lion family members! We look forward to continuing to connect our animal family with our visitors.