April Keller

0:00Alright, so you're going to be meaning Naya. She's our largest female that we have here at the aquarium. She's also helping take care of our newest cat that was born mid-December. I'm just going to like the nanny. So we'd use some mother. They're swimming together right there. And the little one is a lot darker, so I guess they turn whiter as they grow. Exactly, it's a natural defense mechanism because they're usually born in murky waters and like estuaries and stuff like that. So when they are born they really blend in with that dark murky water. And as they get older they usually turn to spend more time in the Arctic around the ice. So that's why they lighten up a lot of things as well. So climate change must be affecting them pretty severely then with things melting in the far north. Actually their populations are dwindling more so to habitat loss because of pollution.

0:53So that's the main reason. This one seems to be steering us down. This is meeky. He's just curious. He actually has lately been coming up during our encounter programs as well, tracking everyone out. So he loves meeting and seeing new visitors. And does he want us to pet him or does he just wants to see? He's just looking. So we're going to go ahead and start. What we'll do is we give a couple of two tooths on our whistle. We'll put these shapes in the water. Every animal has a specific shape so we'll be swimming around looking for their specific shape. They actually go another color. They just know the shape because they are color blind. Oh why? Oh where are they? Okay. So we'll just start in just a minute. She's a smarty. She already knew. Oh yeah she is big.

1:40She is a big girl. She can actually kind of bring about half of her body out of the water. You want some? That's fantastic. So how do you teach them to do that? Just repetition with food? We actually teach them in several different ways. That was probably trained through a process called targeting where we use our hand or a buoy as a target that they're supposed to touch just like this. Yay! And I heard they can actually inflate that part of their head. That they can inflate it? They can change the shape of their face. They can change the shape. They do have a muscle there that they can move. Oh that's phenomenal.

2:27They also use that melon for echolocation as well. So what they'll do is signals will go in sorry. They'll echolocate the objects. They'll send signals out. And then it'll rebound at whatever object that they're echolocating at. And that echolocation will go back through their lower jaw. Sorry. That's crazy. And they'll get a 3D image in their brain. So just like a bat kind of thing. Are you a bat though? No. And they don't have a dorsal fin. They have something different than that.

3:19That is true. One more turn. You can do it. They have a dorsal ridge. Right. So what's the difference for that? Why have they evolved that way? Because they actually, since they live in the Arctic, they use this dorsal ridge right here. You can go ahead and touch it if you want. Oh wow. That's so rubber feeling. Yeah. And they'll use this ridge to help break through a hole in the ice. Really? Is it like? It's very cartilage. It's just cartilage. Yeah. Alright. Wow. Good job. What are they communicating when they make noise? They're an animal that, well we all know whales talk a lot. Yeah. Yeah.

4:05They're nicknames actually canaries of the sea. They can do several different kinds of vocalizations. Naya, she does a couple. So, show you a little range of her vocalizations. Good girl. And now are they communicating with that? Or are they just making noise? Okay. And do different sounds have different meanings. They can definitely. She also does clicks. Coming out of the blowhole. That's exactly correct. It's coming out of the blowhole. And they can move that blowhole to make those different sounds. Right.

4:50So, is any noise coming out through the throat or is it all the blowhole then? It's all through the blowhole. Interesting. They also, one thing about belugas is, you can see, I've been tickling her tongue. Yeah. Okay. They love their tongue's tickles. How do they know not to chomp down? You can actually go ahead and tickle her tongue if you want. Really? They actually love it. What do I do? Do I just go ahead and give her a little tongue tickle, just rub it? Yep. Excellent. They actually love that. It's one of their favorite things. Really? And we think that it might be because a lot of times in the wild, they will suck in sand and blow it out. And then of course, feeling on their tongue, they might enjoy. Huh. All of our belugas really, really love that.

5:36And from a young age, they often will offer up, us to rub their tongue. That's great. So, it's kind of cool. Yeah. So, you're feeding her a lot of fish. Yeah. How much does she typically eat in a day? They can eat anywhere from 40 to 60 pounds of fish a day. Oh my. So, our largest male, he eats about 60 pounds a day. Good job, ladies. And do they, these fish are, no, they're dead. You can see that she has, her teeth are all really blunt. They're not really sharp. Yeah. And it's because they don't use those teeth to chew. They just use it to grab ahold of the fish and then they'll swallow it whole. Swallow it whole. And to them, it doesn't matter if the fish is alive or dead. It just, it all tastes the same to them.

6:21Exactly. Definitely. So, I got to ask you, the killer whale thing that happened not too long ago, are you at all fearful doing this now? Um, well, we don't have killer whales. Right. Well, I'm sure these are a lot more friendly here, but there's no killer in their title, right? But, but still, I do in a similar job. It must, it must kind of change the dynamics a little bit for you. Um, I've been working with, uh, Gluguales for a long time and I'm very comfortable around these guys. Um, I can't, I've never worked with killer whales and we don't have them here, so, um, I wouldn't be able to say. Right. Fair enough. But with these guys, I'm very used to them. I'm very comfortable around them. Yeah, there's no fear at all. Um, but working with any wild animal, we are always aware that nothing's going to happen.

7:06Um, and I think, you know, any time working with any wild animal, you have to know that, um, there's always a danger. Animals can be unpredictable at times, so, but I've been here for six years and I've known to, I've known these animals for a long time. Um, and I have a good relationship with them and so I'm very comfortable around them. Do you always work with the same one or do you get to play with them all, I guess? Yeah, one great thing about the aquarium is that we get to, we actually have, usually when you're seeing your trainer, you work all the animals. Um, and up until that point, you have certain focus animals. Nia has been, she was one of my first, uh, whales to work with. So, I've been working with her for a very long time.

7:52Mm. You guys are old friends. Yeah. So what got you into this? How does, I mean, this is a dream job for most people. I was getting to play with these, these creatures. Exactly. So, how do you get yourself into this? Personally, I always wanted to work with animals. I love animals. Um, and, So you do this kind of thing every day or every couple of days? We do it several times a day. Oh, so they're really? Yep, they're really used to it. And actually having you out here with me is great for her. Um, is it for her to see new people? She's part of our encounter forever. Okay.

8:38Oh, so people can actually come and meet her. Exactly. Okay. And it's also great because if we ever have a veterinarian out here to take a look at her, or, um, for any reason, she's used to having extra people. Right. So, it's a really great practice. Stretching? Oh, my goodness. So back to how you got into this? What kind of schooling did you take? I actually, most of the trainers here have a bachelor's degree, but you can have more. Right. And, um, in biology, or is there a marine biology program? Most common degree is a biological science. Psychology is also really popular. Interesting. Um, because we do use positive reinforcement. and we take psychology classes, they talk about a lot of positive reinforcement.

9:26Let's say goodbye because our sessions don't want to sew over. Okay. Um. Um.