The zoo recently celebrated the return of a terrific trio of former teachers from the University of California Santa Cruz. No, Abby, Bailey, and Annie are not professors. They are sea lions! The three young female sea lions have returned from a very unique college experience, and everyone involved thinks it was a “stellar” success!
While the sea lions were not lecturers, they were certainly teaching researchers some very important lessons about how best to care for an endangered species. The frisky females took part in a three-and-a-half-year study that is helping researchers better understand how much energy sea lions use daily. The three females are California sea lions---and there are plenty of their species in the wild. But they are similar to another sea lion species that is in trouble. Steller’s sea lions live along the northern coasts of Alaska and Russia.
The Steller's Sea Lion Recovery Project is working to protect enough habitat so that Steller's sea lions in the wild can survive. The problem is that no one is quite sure just how much habitat they need. Studying animals in the wild is pretty hard, especially when they swim miles and miles in icy ocean waters. So the UCSC researchers looked to Brookfield Zoo for help in answering a very basic question: what are the energy requirements that Steller's sea lions need to survive?
Eat, Breathe, Swim
This is where the zoo’s sea lions swam into the picture. There are no Steller’s sea lions in zoos, so our sea lions were uniquely suited to step in. Their job was pretty simple: eat, breathe, swim.
Our trainers work with our animals to help develop behaviors that enrich their care. As part of this training, the California sea lions have learned to respond to verbal and visual signals. The researchers at Long Marine Lab could gather data on our sea lions by asking them to do some very simple things: eat (while the quantities of fish and food were calculated); breathe (while metabolic activity was monitored); and swim (while the effect of aerobic activity was checked).
The training the sea lions received at Brookfield Zoo meant that gathering this important information was fairly easy. Now those data will be used to create a “baseline” that paints a picture of the needs of a healthy sea lion. Scientists will spend the next year or so crunching the numbers to examine those baseline metabolic rates in the hopes of developing a better understanding of what Stellar’s sea lions will need. This important research demonstrates Brookfield Zoo’s ongoing commitment to support important conservation research, and there is a hope that the collaboration with Long Marine Lab will continue to move forward.
Back in Their Old Room
The girls flew back from California in style---as a FedEx “priority” overnight shipment! Once they got back to the zoo, the sea lions quickly readjusted to the familiar environment of Pinniped Point. They started their training almost immediately with zoo staff---who noticed that they had come back a bit chunkier. (All three sea lions had put on their “freshman fifteen” at school, and weighed 15 to 20 pounds more upon their return.)
“We didn’t skimp on the fish here,” said biologist Terrie Williams from Long Marine Laboratory.
Even though the environment is familiar, there have been changes since the ladies left. The sea lion grottos are no longer just a girls’ club. Two male sea lions, J.R. and Harley, have taken up residence in the pool next door. Keepers expect a smoother transition when the boys are introduced to the girls later this year---but undoubtedly these girls will have some things to teach the new guys. After all, they have been to college!
Furry Films
Keepers interact with the sea lions every day. You might be able to catch a training session on your next visit to the zoo. But in the meantime, check out this great video of a the girls showing off for a crowd (and for best results, click on "view standalone player" when the new window opens):- Keepers request specific behaviors from the sea lions with hand and verbal signals. The sea lions get a fish treat when they follow the cue:
- It is very important for the keepers to be able to interact closely and touch the sea lions to help monitor the pinnipeds' health:
- The keepers must be able to work with sea lions on land and in the water!:
Graduating with Honors
Brookfield Zoo’s Sea Lions Are Back from College
Annie, Abby, and Bailey
California Sea Lions
Senior Keeper Alicia Russell works with Bailey on some familiar behaviors.