Julie Larsen Maher © WCS
July 24, 2014
Super Soaker
- as seen by -
Kayla Bergman
Walruses are very intelligent.
You are looking at just one of 72 behaviors that the New York Aquarium’s 20-year-old Pacific walrus Kulusiq (nicknamed Kulu) knows. This one is called “squirt.”
There are several methods keepers can choose from to train behaviors. The capture method was used for “squirt.” During a training session, Kulu randomly began spitting water like a fountain. Our keepers wanted to keep it in her behavioral repertoire, so they used positive reinforcement to train her by saying “good” and feeding her fish. Through observation, they anticipated this behavior and would say the word “squirt” when she offered a spray of water from her mouth. Kulu began to understand and repeated it in hope of receiving more rewards.
Ultimately, using the capturing method, Kulu has added over 15 behaviors in the past year. Come and see for yourself by visiting Kulu and her poolmate Nuka at NYA.
Nikon 1 AW1
Leave a Comment
Julie Larsen Maher
July 24, 2014 at 6:55 am
What better place to try out my new waterproof Nikon AW1 than the New York Aquarium, one of five WCS wildlife parks where I work. I needed to test my camera’s capabilities. Kayla said Kulu could help. Kulu has a behavior that can ensure a wet experience. The camera stayed dry. The photographer didn’t.
Pingback: Unit 3: Writing for the Web – Advanced Writing in the Sciences
Pingback: Unit 3: Writing for the Web – Advanced Writing in the Sciences