Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Harvey, J
• Hurley, J
• Skrovan, S

Titel

Training California sea lions to record whale behavior using a rehabilitating California gray whale calf

Ist Teil von

• Aquatic mammals, 2001-01, Vol.27 (3), p.289-293

Erscheinungsjahr

2001

Quelle

EZB Free E-Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The goals of the SLEWTH (Sea Lions Exploring Whales and Their Habitats) project were to train California sea lions to carry a harness with attached video camera and swim alongside whales, thus recording their underwater behaviors. The sea lions had been trained to wear a harness with attached video camera housing, enter and exit the ocean from vessels or shore, swim alongside a moving vessel, and recognize verbal commands from an underwater speaker. These sea lions also were trained to swim alongside a replicate of a whale being pulled by a vessel, and would swim alongside captive dolphins as the first approximation of swimming abeam of whales in the wild. The presence of JJ at SeaWorld provided a unique opportunity and the next logical step for desensitizing the trained sea lions to the presence of a large cetacean in a controlled setting. The two sea lions were transported to SeaWorld of San Diego, and during a 3-week period slowly introduced into JJ's tank, moved stepwise closer to JJ, and eventually trained to swim in close proximity (within 0.5 m) to JJ. We never observed any significant changes in JJ's behavior (either interest or disturbance) when the sea lions were in visual contact with JJ. The brief study demonstrated that the California sea lions could be transported a long distance, while maintaining their trained behaviors, desensitized to the presence of a captive large cetacean, and perhaps familiarized JJ with a species she would encounter in the wild after release. We believe this experience at SeaWorld displayed the potential of training sea lions to carry instruments for monitoring the underwater behaviors and movements of free-ranging whales.