Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS
May 4, 2018
Will Paints!
- as seen by -
Payden Sra
Will is an eight-year-old male Pacific harbor seal living at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium. One of the many behaviors he has learned with the aquarium keepers is painting.
Will has been painting since May 2016. He is trained to wear a sleeve on his front flipper that holds his brushes and paints. He waves his flipper back and forth on the canvas to create his masterpieces. Will learned how to paint through positive reinforcement. This means that whenever he does a behavior correctly, the trainers reinforce him with fish. His painting behavior, along with all the behaviors he learns at the aquarium, is both mentally and physically stimulating and creates a new and exciting challenge for Will each day.
Nikon D5
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