Finally So Cal

My Happy Birthday Weekend: Day 2

This is Bocce (and her ball... no pun intended!)

Then we met Obie. Big Daddy. He weighed in at a measly 3800 lbs. Obie was sweet. Poor guy was blind from cataracts but that didn't stop him from eating 11 lbs of fish in under 2 minutes. We learned that Walruses 'see' with their whiskers (vibrissae is the proper name). He knows where a person is based on their sound and their smell which I guess they get from their vibrissae. Anyway, Walruses kind of suck up their food. Obie didn't even open his mouth (except to blow chunks of food at us!); he just sucked inwards hard enough to suck the fish right out of our hands. It was SO cool.

Then it was on to the Polar Bear exhibit. We met Charly - a 3 year old male (who had been fixed so he could interact with the females) who stood at least 10' tall without reaching. They have a strict non-direct contact with the bears so we had to stand behind two sets of steel cage doors. It was still amazing. He would put his paws up on the bars at the trainers request for a measly piece of apple. Apparently Polar Bears are highly intelligent animals who tend to get bored easily (which explains the depressed polar bears at the Calgary zoo) and have to be constantly challenged with new situations. The bears are rarely paired with the same bear two days in a row. Keeps them guessing. In this situation you have to ask yourself: who is trained? The bears, or us?! They get great food every day, prepared just the way they like it, new toys which they destroy on a regular basis and friends to play with at their whim. I think the trainers ought to consider themselves "trainees". Unfortunately the batteries died just before we got to the Polar Bear exhibit but just to give you an idea of how big a male polar bear can actually get:

Charly wasn't this big, but seriously, not so cute and cuddly after all! Their fur is actually quite coarse (we got to touch some that Charly had shed previously) but very white. Its kind of like Buffalo fur in texture - though I can't say many people have pet buffalo before either. And that's a story for another time.

Then it was off to put on our wetsuits. Ah the moment of humiliation every woman wants to experience on her birthday weekend. NOT! However, turns out that the folks at Sea World don't slouch on Behind the Scene experiences. We were treated like rock stars. We each had our own private change room, complete with showers, towels, and a pre-sized wet suit to fit each of us. It was great. I can't imagine ever having to zip myself into one (all the zippers and tabs are on the back) but I can say this: I don't look too shabby in a wet suit!

After we posed for our picture it was off to see the Seals and the Beluga Whales - the high light of the tour (at least for me). We met a little seal who name was Grimsey - black with white stripes. He was a rather curious fellow who let us pet him. They're very sleek - and very smart. He got chased by a Beluga who was in the tank but knew enough to come back to all of us gawkers who wanted nothing more than to feed him. Unfortunately we didn't get to feed him but we did learn a lot about Beluga's and seals.

Then, off to the Beluga tank. I don't know how many of you have ever been in a wet suit in 55F water (that's just shy of 13C for my Canadian readers) but it is, for lack of a better word, excruciating. Wonderful, but excruciating. The water seeps in through the booties and then very slowly through the suit so it feels like little pin pricks of cold stabbing you all over your body. It takes my breath away - literally. I was kind of hyperventilating. Eventually your body warms up the water in the suit and it's actually quite warm but the first few minutes are something to be reckoned with.

So Belugas are big. But they are so un-scary. Eventually. We're in 3 1/2 feet of water at the edge of a platform which falls of to 20 or 30 feet of water. I can see two whales across the tank being fed and trained by Nick, a 20 something trainer who looks like he's out of an underwear ad. Eric, our trainer is next to me and calls over Ferdinand, the gay Beluga. I quickly panic and ask

"How many are in here?".

"Two... that we know of!"

"What?"

"Kidding, just these two".

Alright, I can start breathing again. Two. 3000 lbs of Beluga whale vs. 8 people. I hope they've had their breakfast!!!

Turns out we were able to give them their afternoon snack. We had them sick, and jump and splash water in our faces at mach 10 (if that even exists!) and we rubbed their flukes and everything. It was amazing. I can't even explain it. We played with both whales; I even got brave enough to put my fingers in his mouth while it was closed. They're very gentle. Tiny teeth. They suck their food in through their mouth just like a Walrus.

So, since I can't find the words to explain it all, I'll leave it to a picture (which I think is worth at least a thousand words!)

Happy Birthday to me!

posted by Meg @ 10:49 AM