Sparky the Sea Lion Show turning 60

Story and photos by MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

After a quiet winter of training, Como Zoo’s seventh Sparky the Sea Lion is ready to take to the stage on Memorial Day weekend—kicking off the 2016 season.

The new Sparky has big flippers to fill. Her predecessor, a female named CC, retired last summer at the age of 25. Known for her elegance, CC was regarded as something of a sea lion diva.

Photo left: Subee’s eyes are checked during a training session with zookeeper Becky Seivert. The zookeepers use training as a communication tool because, as they like to say, “we don’t speak sea lion, and they they don’t speak English.”

Sparky VII has a very different personality, characterized by an exuberant style of swimming and diving. Her name is Subee, and she came to Como several years ago from a rescue center in California. One of her rear flippers had been severely damaged, almost certainly the result of a shark bite. The rescue center considered her unlikely to survive release, which made her an excellent candidate for zoo life.

Photo right: Zookeeper Kelly Dinsmore in front of the old large cat exhibit at Como Zoo, which was built in 1931 as a WPA Project. The concrete pens and iron bars are a reminder of how far zoos have come in education, conservation and species preservation.

Kelly Dinsmore is a zookeeper for Como’s marine animal collection, which includes sea lions, harbor seals, polar bears, puffins, and penguins. “It’s important to understand that our animals aren’t taken from the wild,” she said. “They’re acquired either from other zoos or rescue centers.“

“Our training methods are very humane,” Dinsmore continued. “We don’t ask the sea lions to do anything they wouldn’t do on their own. Essentially, the ‘tricks’ Sparky performs in a show just build off of existing behaviors.“

All of the training exercises are geared toward animal husbandry, and the sessions are short: only four to five minutes, three times each day. “Essentially,” Dinsmore explained, “Sparky gets a full physical every time she trains. The trainer has a chance to check her eyes, test her joints for mobility, perform an ultra sound, or even take a voluntary blood draw if needed. In captivity, a sea lion can live to be more than 30 years old (twice the average length of a life spent in the wild). By developing trust through training, we’re able to manage the health care of our marine animals in a positive way.”

Photo right: Zookeeper Laura Engfer worked with operant conditioning on CC, using the “sleep” command. This gave her a chance to examine the surface of CC’s skin and continue building trust with a gentle touch.

The training sessions are optional for Sparky and CC, but because they also serve as meal time, it’s rare that a session is passed up.

CC’s predecessor, Sparky V, was the first to receive a new kind of animal training at Como Zoo, called operant conditioning. This progressive approach to working with animals relies on positive reinforcement to stimulate the animal’s natural behaviors and encourages them to participate in their own healthcare. Over time, the operant conditioning program at Como was so successful that it expanded to include mammals, birds, amphibians and even reptiles.

Operant conditioning involves three steps. First, a behavior is named such as “sleep,” in which the sea lion lies down as if going to sleep. Then the trainer clicks a clicker, which serves as a bridge between the behavior and the reward. Next, the trainer gives a reward: in the case of the sea lions, either a herring or a capelin fish treat.

The trainers have been practicing since early spring on the empty stage before the zoo opens, getting Subee ready for her debut. Shows will start Memorial Day weekend and continue throughout the summer. There will be one show daily Mon.-Fri. at 11:30am; Sat.-Sun. there will be two shows daily at 11:30am and 3pm.

SIDEBAR

MN Legislative request

Como Zoo has requested $14.5 million from the Minnesota legislature, as part of the current bonding bill. According to Como Friends, the zoo’s nonprofit fundraising organization, the plan calls for several major upgrades including a salt-water filtration system, a shaded amphitheater, and underwater viewing areas. The multilayered habitat would give visitors more insights into the natural behaviors of marine animals, and would contribute in a positive way to zoo revenue and the local economy. It’s not too late to write or call your representative to express your opinion about the bonding bill. Como Zoo applied in 2014 (the bonding bill process takes place every other year) and was denied funds.