As a matter of introduction, my name is Hugh Ryono and officially I am a volunteer marine mammal trainer at the Aquarium of the Pacific working with the seals and sea lions. Unofficially over the past ten years that I’ve been spending my Saturdays at the Aquarium, I’ve also been called upon to be such things as a duck catcher, frog holder, pademelon babysitter, shark handler, fish nurse, lorikeet companion, sea otter groomer, sea turtle wrangler, aquarium blogger, water sample getter, water quality stuff adder, and protein skimmer cleaner.
Of course the last three items on my list are familiar to anyone that’s kept a saltwater aquarium as a hobby. However, the scale and manner of what is involved may be a bit more than most hobbyists are used to.
In getting water samples from one of the holding tanks in our back area I may not only have to get waist deep in cold saltwater but also keep my eyes on a sea otter bent upon pick-pocketing the sample container to use as a play toy. Sea otters are extremely curious critters and basically want to take possession of anything new that comes into their area. They’ll actually hold their paws out in a sort of “Give it to me NOW!” expression as you wade in with the container.
When water quality tests call for adding needed chemicals to the pinniped exhibit, I have to beware of playful sea lions that may goose me as I bend over to pour buffer into the water system. It may be playful on their part but it usually surprises the heck out of me to have a cold, wet sea lion nose suddenly poke my rear end. And while most hobbyists are used to placing eye droppers or small containers worth of chemicals into their tanks; adding stuff to our main pinniped pool usually involves hauling a large heavy bucket into the exhibit.
Cleaning the protein skimmers in our holding area involves getting up on a ladder and placing a lot of your body into a cylinder large enough to hold your entire body and scrubbing the scum off of it. Of course the thought crosses my mind that most of what I’m dealing with while scrubbing is the stuff that comes out the aft section of a sea lion. Skimmer cleaning is one of those jobs that would make a great episode on “Dirty Jobs”.
The benefits of all this attention to water quality is a healthy environment for our marine mammals. It also makes me feel a bit better to know that the water that I’m snorkeling in with the seals and sea lions has been tested and kept to the highest standards because whether it’s a 10 gallon tank in a home or an 18 thousand gallon tank at the Aquarium, in the end its still not only the living environment for the critter, but also its toilet. And if I have to swim in a toilet, I prefer a clean and well maintained one.
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California features over 12,500 animals representing over 650 different species with a focus on the Pacific Ocean. You can learn more about us on our website, including our very own blog section.
As a matter of introduction, my name is Hugh Ryono and officially I am a volunteer marine mammal trainer at the Aquarium of the Pacific working with the seals and sea lions. Unofficially over the past ten years that I’ve been spending my Saturdays at the Aquarium, I’ve also been called upon to be such things as a duck catcher, frog holder, pademelon babysitter, shark handler, fish nurse, lorikeet companion, sea otter groomer, sea turtle wrangler, aquarium blogger, water sample getter, water quality stuff adder, and protein skimmer cleaner.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed