THANK YOU, AQUARIUM OF NIAGARA!
- 5 minutes ago
- 8 min read
Tavishi Anyone who has spoken to me/kept up with Kradigan this summer has heard of my most recent adventure. I got to spend the past few months living in Niagara Falls, New York and participating in a full-time marine mammals and birds internship at the Aquarium of Niagara.
It goes without saying that this was a profound and life-changing opportunity. It has always been my greatest dream to work with pinnipeds, and after all these years, this is the first time I got hands on experience with these incredible animals.
Prior to this, my pinniped experience was limited by distance. I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where the closest thing to the ocean was Lake Pleasant (a burro is basically a walrus, right?)
Unless I drove the six hours to San Diego or visited Odysea Aquarium, I could experience pinnipeds only through textbook pages and laptop screens. Pinnipeds were just out of my reach, and so I made the magic myself. I created a world of my own by reading, sketching, painting, and creating. My love for pinnipeds rapidly became more and more obsessive and insane- my party trick is that I can tell you the scientific name of any species of pinniped within five seconds. I can put a name to a seal better than I can to my extended family members (sorry to all the buas and chachas I've forgotten).
I want to be a marine mammal veterinarian, working in rehabilitation, pathology, and epidemiology. I am fascinated by how medicine interacts with population health, ecology, and climate change. My ultimate guiding motive is to protect animal welfare, and to be a voice for those who are so commonly overlooked.
This summer, I got to take one of my first big steps towards making this dream come true- working with pinnipeds. I came to this experience knowing a lot in theory, but lacking in practice. I broadened my academic and emotional perspectives this summer, and was able to more clearly refine what I am doing all of this for.
It is very easy to have a favorite animal. It is more difficult to understand why. My love for pinnipeds is driven by more than just my own diatheses, but also by the experiences I've had over time that have built me as a person.
This internship was one such experience that solidified and streamlined my own understanding of my passion. I firmly believe that science cannot stand alone without the humanities- especially when it comes to medicine and conservation.
I believe a good vet is one who can integrate perspectives on conservation, on ethics, on philosophy, and on education into their methods of treatment.
(i swear I am getting to the part where I talk about my internship, don't worry. this might be one of my more cringe, touchy-feely posts, but please! drop a comment below about your thoughts!!!)
TRAINING IS HEALTHCARE
Part of the AON MMB internship (wow abbreviation central! Aquarium of Niagara, Marine Mammals and Birds) was a very large focus on marine mammal training.
Now, when people think about marine mammal training, the first thing that typically comes to mind is sea lion- a flashy show with sea lions doing tricks. And while I, on paper, knew that training went far beyond that, I failed to properly understand its purposes and roles in an animal's life.
Under human care, the primary purpose of training is to allow for voluntary healthcare. Now, out in the wild, pinnipeds live for a lot less than in captivity. This is a good sign! The trade-off of being unable to live in one's natural environment is the ability to have opportunities for greater health and protection. While our sea lions may never know what it is like to explore the ocean, they also will never know the fear of being chased by a predator, or the pain of starvation because of competition.
All of our marine mammals at the Aquarium of Niagara are non-releasable for one way or another. Either they were born under human care, meaning they have never known the ocean, or they experienced some injury that rendered them unfit for surviving in the wild (for example, our harbor seal Stryker's swimming is affected because of an injury he previously suffered when he was hit by a boat. Stryker lacks a hind flipper now. To release him into the wild would be cruel- he wouldn't be able to survive.)
Regardless, even if our animals are used to people, they do not understand English. And so, we teach our animals to trust us through training. Training decreases fear by making experiences which might be scary commonplace and associated with positive things- like fish.
If you've ever taken your dog to the vet, you know how scared they can get during a vaccine or an exam. You can't explain to them using words that this is for their own benefit- you can, however, make it something they fear less by associating positive stuff with it, or making it a practiced habit.
The animals at the aquarium are used to and trained to perform some of the commonplace veterinary procedures necessary for their health- be it opening their mouth to brush their teeth, or lying down on an x ray plate. By making these typically scary things something they are used to, we can reduce the amount of anxiety our animals experience. So much effort goes into minimizing our animals' stress.
It also makes it possible for us to perform medical care on our animals in cases of emergencies. If a 230 pound sea lion does not want to participate in a blood draw, the situation can quickly become dangerous for people involved. There have been several cases of large and dangerous animals refusing to participate in healthcare, resulting in adverse effects on their health. Because our animals willingly offer up a flippy to get their blood taken, we are able to do frequent monitoring of our animals' health as well as jump in in the case of an emergency.
Training can also be a lot more flashy than just husbandry behaviors. For example, jumps, flips, handstands, and the exciting, high-energy behaviors associated with the well known sea lion show. Sea lion shows and performing animals have been, in the past, believed to be forced. In fact, aquariums of the highest standard, like those certified by the AZA, have all training like this be voluntary. Most of our penguins have opted out of most training altogether, although we try to, at the very least, work on healthcare with them. Certain individuals who are more food-motivated enjoy and participate in training a lot more. But if an animal doesn't want to do training, that's alright. It doesn't change how much food, attention, or care they get. Training is completely voluntary.
It's the same for the high-energy sea lions. Sea lions are like working dogs; for their physical and emotional needs to be met, they need to be swimming, jumping around, and playing, just like they would do in the wild. Under human care, there are a lot fewer opportunities for our animals to exercise the way they would naturally. And so, we create opportunities for our animals, including through training!
Fun fact: sea lions are faster than humans on both land and in water. Do not cross a sea lion, they can chase you down no matter what.
ENRICHMENT IS HEALTHCARE
Another way we can help our animals engage in natural behaviors is through enrichment. Enrichment is basically just a fancy word for toys, and stimulate our animals mentally and physically. Creating the most variable environment possible is ideal, because as I mentioned before, we cannot give our animals the ocean. We can, however, help fulfill any needs that go unfulfilled.
Enrichment can promote foraging behaviors, which wouldn't naturally occur in a habitat where animals are hand-fed. Additionally, especially with our penguins, enrichment can cause the zoomies™️to occur. Penguins especially are super fun to watch engage with enrichment. Penguins get super excited by tassels and shiny lights (penguins are visual hunters, so cool looking things turn on their prey drive).
Some penguins are more excited by enrichment than others. For example, at the aquarium, the penguins Nosrac, PT, Cantuta, and Iris were especially fascinated by enrichment. Nosrac was not picky at all, but he was partial to light. Iris and Cantuta really liked strings, and they like tag-teaming playing.
Both training and enrichment are known to decrease stress in captivity. Animals kept in static tanks with no variability or physical engagement are frequently listless and stressed.
Stress isn't just limited to causing poor mental health in animals. Instead, it has proper physiological repercussions. Animals that are chronically experiencing stress have extended release of corticotropic releasing hormone from the hypothalamus. This results in the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone from the anterior pituitary gland, and the resultant release of cortisol from the adrenal cortex.
The release of cortisol prepares your body to deal with stress- it increases blood sugar, heart rate, and blood pressure, among other things. But cortisol also has effects on other parts of the body. Persistently high cortisol in animals has been linked to decreased T cell production and proliferation, as well as other forms of immune dysregulation.
Cortisol has been known to upregulate the production of certain pro-inflammatory (IL-6, TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10, IGF-β). Now, this can sometimes balance itself out, but in some cases, it can result in undesired increased or decreased inflammatory response. Increased inflammatory response can result in autoimmune conditions, whereas decreased inflammatory response can result in immunosuppression and being prone to illness.
In the silliest way possible, this also made me think back to how I go about my own life as an individual- am I getting enough enrichment? The standards with which the Aquarium of Niagara promoted animal welfare made me consider if I was taking my own welfare seriously enough.
This helped me lock in on some of my own habits to enrich myself:
Mental enrichment- this is something I've already been doing to a great extent. I just am more intentional about it now. For myself, enrichment looks less like toys, and rather, choosing to intellectually stimulate myself on a regular basis. Because I am so constantly immersed in the world of biology and the sciences, I like to prioritize putting myself out of my comfort zone in the humanities- for example, reading Latin, scanning Latin poetry (I have a hexameter.co addiction, ok??). I also spent the summer learning a lot about parasites and also dinosaurs and biomechanics.
Exerciiiise- exercise helps sea lions feel better. I am a very high energy person, kinda like a wound up sea lion. I found my mood and ability to focus and function is a lot better when I am consistently working out. I vary how I work out a lot to make sure I give myself some surprises- for example, different types of cardio, different music I'm playing throughout.
Unexpected adventures- sea lions need changes and variability in their environment. So do I! That's why I've been prioritizing going about and discovering new places. For example, this summer, every time I had a day off, I made sure I left my flat and explored a new place. Because I was so consistently inside, this was typically an adventure outside. I did a lot of hiking, biking, and exploring. For animals, new people and animals in their habitat is a form of enrichment. Turns out, it's the same for people. Throughout the summer, even outside of my workplace, I made a ton of new friends in the most unlikely of places- baristas at a cafe, cashiers at a grocery store, or cats loafed on my porch!
Again, sorry for the late post. I am now in LONDON, and moved into my new flat!
Most importantly, to any AON staff who are reading this: thank you so much for this opportunity, and for giving me the best summer of my life. I am so grateful for your endless patience and willingness to work with an enthusiastic intern!
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