The harbor seals had a very special visitor the other day, Harlem Globetrotter Buckets Blakes. Buckets had a fun scrimmage with Amelia and Chacoda. Check out the video!

One of the most popular questions the trainers hear is "How do you tell the harbor seals apart?" The answer sounds simple; just by looking at them, but it can take a long time if you don't see the seals every day. First you need to know who is in the exhibit. We currently have seven Atlantic harbor seals in the plaza exhibit--two males and five females. We can divide them into two easily identifiable groups, the 'spotted' and the 'non-spotted' seals. The spotted seals have distinct dark spots on their necks and bellies. All of the 'spotted' seals are related.

All of our recent posts on toothbrushing seems to have attracted some attention, because on Wednesday, Feb. 4, Chacoda and I did an interview with the Boston Globe to celebrate National Children's Dental Health Month (it is also National Pet Dental Health Month).

While Chacoda was regularly having his teeth brushed with the rotary toothbrush (and really great at it too), we noticed that there was some plaque build-up on his back teeth that, while not bad, just wasn't budging. So this past month I introduced Chuck to the Sonicare toothbrush with the hopes that it would just blast that plaque right off.

Rochelle and I were the only two trainers on last week. With seven seals to feed you might think it would be difficult, but this is where those name targets come in handy. Each of us did two sessions with five seals at a time, which allowed the other trainer to focus on two. It was enriching for both us and the seals; you will notice that Rochelle and I didn't always feed the same animals or even line them up in the same order, but by using those name targets we were able to keep the five seals together calmly and give everyone the attention they deserved.

Once upon a time there was a group of talented trainers who worked at the New England Aquarium. These trainers decided to send holiday cards to all their friends to let them know they were thinking of them. "What sort of card should we send?" they wondered. They thought and they thought and they thought. Then one said, "Let's have our photogenic harbor seals kiss under mistletoe!" "Brilliant!" shouted the trainers with glee.

When I want to ask Chuck and Cayenne to go to their Name targets, I point to the targets (hand signal) while saying the word "Target" (verbal signal). Once Chuck and Cayenne touch their nose to their individual targets, I will say the word "Good" (bridge) and feed them some fish (reinforcement).

Though the present version of our "crittercam" might be as unwieldy and awkward as Greg Marshall's first prototype, the chance to see what Chacoda and Amelia see as they move through their exhibit is exciting and fun.

As you all know by now, there are many different ways to enrich our seals. Here is a short clip of Rochelle and I playing with Chacoda and his sister Cayenne through the glass.