If you get a chance to visit the Minnesota Zoo soon, you will love watching Spree, April and Allie jump in the air together – a natural behavior called a bow. Even though I see it everyday, I'm still amazed at how dolphins can jump so high and effortlessly. More amazing, though, is how much Spree has changed in doing this behavior with the females. When we first asked Spree to join April and Allie in this behavior, Spree waited for the females to jump first and would then join them on the second jump. She would watch them underwater, see where they were going, and then jump. Over time she became more comfortable and would jump at the same time, although she seemed to think it was a contest and would try to jump higher. Then when I was watching the three females do this behavior the other day, I was thrilled to realize what Spree was doing. She was completely in sync with the other females - same direction, same height, same timing. It is a beautiful behavior to watch and a clear statement to how confident Spree has become.

When progress happens so slowly it's often easy to miss how much has been accomplished. I re-read the past few blogs and it's amazing to me how much progress has been made. At this point, I don't know that the changes will be so dramatic and so this will be the last blog entry for awhile.

I hope everyone has been as excited about learning about April and Allie as I have been, and if you haven't had a chance to come out to the zoo yet, I hope that I’ll see you this summer! Don’t forget to stop by the Zoo’s new exhibit, Russia’s Grizzly Coast, opening June 7.

Until next time…

-Jenny, marine mammal trainer

Going to the slideout is an extension of weighing dolphins on a scale - but it takes place in a different part of the pool and it probably feels different to them. With any new behavior, we break it down into little steps and reward the dolphin each step of the way. When we worked on this behavior with April, we had a trainer stand in the slideout with a target. A target is a useful tool for training, and in this case, it helped us direct her to a certain area of the pool. Initially, we pointed her toward her trainer and tapped the target in the water to show her where to go. She did very well, so we moved to the next step which was having her follow the target up onto the edge of the slideout. Again, she did a great job and looked very comfortable, so we used the same hand signal, or cue, that we would use to ask her to come up on to the scale to be weighed. At this point, April became a little hesitant so we asked for Semo's assistance.

Dolphins are great at learning a behavior simply by mimicking another dolphin. Young dolphins often learn new behaviors by watching their mothers or other dolphins, so we decided to pair April with Semo while she was learning the next step in this behavior. Semo already knows this behavior, so within a short time, April was following Semo up onto the slideout. It is a great behavior that we are still fine tuning.

For now, April will be doing this behavior with Semo. Over time, we will ask her to try the behavior on her own. Eventually she will be able to do this behavior alone or with another dolphin. She is doing a great job!

-Jenny, marine mammal trainer

For the Beastly Ball, we only had three minutes of dolphin time. We planned out a set of behaviors that would highlight each dolphin’s talents. We spent the days prior to the event practicing.

That evening, dolphin staff was very excited and a little uneasy. We weren't really sure if April, Allie and Spree would all participate. We went out a few minutes before the guests came into the stadium and asked all four dolphins to join us in the front pool, just to see what would happen. April and Semo went right out and had no trouble. Allie and Spree, on the other hand, weren't so sure so they both decided to stay in the back. So we decided to plan the routine around April and Semo, and if Allie and Spree decide to join, we would go with the flow.

I worked with Allie that evening. Sometimes when she has to do something new, she gets nervous. She'll come near her trainer, leave, swim around the pool, and then try all over again. It's our job as trainers to help them work through this. That night though, it seemed like Allie was working it out on her own. She really wasn't too sure that she wanted to go out into the front pool, even though she had done a training session like this many times. But it was in the evening, and there were a lot of people! I kept encouraging her and then suddenly she charged into the pool, looked at me and was ready. So I asked her to go out and do her vertical spin, a beautiful behavior in which she gets a lot of speed and power going and comes out of the pool vertically spinning. It wasn't a great one, but she did it – and then left for the back pool.

We've all been there. Overcoming nerves isn't always easy. She swam around a bit and then charged back out to the front pool a second time and this time to stay. She joined Spree and April for a lovely jump in the air. Then all four dolphins did a few nice behaviors together at the end.

Although it didn't work out like we had planned, as animal trainers, we just try our best and see what happens. What’s really important is that Allie and I have come so far together in the few months that we have been working together. I am very proud of her and her accomplishment.

-Jenny, marine mammal trainer

Every now and again, Spree will “slip” into the west pool and swim around like she’s been there all along. Once April or Allie notice her they tend to chase her around the pool; sometimes Spree swims away and finds something else to do, and sometimes she goes right back in again! It is fun to watch her and more importantly, it helps us learn about all the social activity going on between our dolphins.

One other thing that I’ve been noticing lately is April and her pre-training session behaviors. We like to go out prior to each public training session and fill everyone in on what to expect our dolphins to be doing. April has been offering a little jump, a little twirl or a little tail slap while we are talking to the public. I think maybe she is just excited for the session to start, or perhaps she just loves the limelight and can’t wait for the training session to begin!

This week, the Zoo is preparing for its annual fundraiser–the Beastly Ball. It should prove to be an exciting and busy week for the dolphins and their trainers!

-Jenny, marine mammal trainer

Now on to the fun stuff! We have been continuing to work with April at the windows and in the shallows. It is funny how dolphins will learn new behaviors or become interested in something new just by watching other dolphins. The other day, I was working with Allie as April was being pointed to the shallows. Allie couldn't take her eyes off of April and what she was doing. She was leaning in that direction and looking at April, then looking at me - indicating to me that she was ready to try this. We took a chance and pointed her over to the other trainer in the shallows and she did great! So now we will be working with Allie on this new behavior as well. She is still not so keen on working at the windows but with a little time I'm sure she will come around.

We have also introduced some new rubber ball toys to the females. Semo and Spree really seem to enjoy this, so we thought we would see if April and Allie were interested and they have become very good at catching them.

Socially, Semo is still Semo. He always wants to see what April and Allie are up to, even if it's right in the middle of a training session. Spree and Allie are still trying to figure each other out, while April seems to ignore their play sessions. It may seem like a distraction but it is great to watch Semo and Spree being so active and interacting with April and Allie.

-Jenny, marine mammal trainer

Semo is our one constant. If Allie is in the back pool with her trainer for too long, he simply has to go and remind her that he isn't to be forgotten. He will swim past her very slowly with his mouth open, occasionally vocalizing at the same time. Allie, in turn, will vocalize and keep a close eye on him but seems focused on staying with her trainer. At this point, she seems to prefer to keep the socializing in between training sessions.

This past week, we also worked on pointing April, Semo, and Spree toward one of the trainers in the shallow area of the pool. With Allie, our main goal was to encourage her to stay with her trainer and being content to move between pools - front and back! April really seems to enjoy the new training and since she seemed to be energized with her work at the window, we decided to introduce a trainer in the water to a part of the pool we haven't used too much with her. Once again, she did a great job, as did Spree and Semo. Whenever we are training something new, we keep that part of the training very short and sweet, as they say, to “keep it positive.” It is just a nice way to add variety to their training.

Discovery Bay has been bustling with people lately, especially in the evening. We often have special events, overnight programs, or receptions in the evening. April and Allie are very interested in all this activity. They usually hover in one spot and just watch the activity. Otherwise, they will very casually (and slowly!) swim by so they don't miss anything. Semo and Spree are used to this activity, so perhaps they don't find it quite as intriguing but for April and Allie it seems to keep their attention.

Thank you once again to all of our guests that have been watching our training sessions. You are a wonderful source of encouragement for both dolphins and trainers!

-Jenny, marine mammal trainer

Allie
Before each training session, marine mammal staff let the audience know about the dolphins, what was currently going on in the pool, and even some of the challenges going on. One of those challenges is trying to get Allie out of her “favorite” pool–the west pool–so she can be comfortable in each of them. During some training sessions, she has a tendency to either stay in the west pool or quickly go back there. Zoo guests have helped us tremendously by cheering Allie on when she would rejoin the pod in the front pool. It was great to have so much outside support (I'm not sure how much Allie picked up on it but her trainers sure did). Every animal has its own challenge, and this is just one Allie’s. As with all things in training, time and patience will help to work it out.

Semo
Something that hasn't changed is Semo: he is still trying to “show off” for the females. My favorite little trick that he does is taking a fish from a trainer, sinking below the water's surface, and letting the fish go. He seems to plan on the fact that the females will leave their trainers and retrieve the fish! The scenario really only has about a 10% success rate, but I love his determination.

April
April is definitely a dolphin that enjoys learning new behaviors. Lately she has been learning to swim from one pool to another (called “pointing). She swims to the target and her trainer with such enthusiasm. Whenever she is pointed, a big push of water comes over the side of the pool and her trainer needs to step back so she doesn’t get drenched! It really causes her to vocalize up a storm which is something she seems to do when she gets excited.

Spree
Spree is such an interesting dolphin and has learned so much in the past few weeks. Recently we have seen her “forcing” interactions between her and Allie. This usually results in a lot of chasing, but it also says how socially interested she is in the females and how sitting back and observing for so long has helped her to, maybe, figure out her new pool mates and when and how to make her next move socially.

That's the update from Discovery Bay! Hope to see you at the Minnesota Zoo soon!

-Jenny, marine mammal trainer

We have figured out a system with Allie so that she can still spend some time in front, but sneak back with her trainer into her favorite pool – west. April is pretty flexible these days. She works well alone, with Allie, or even sometimes with Semo. Working with Semo depends on his mood for the day. Currently, it seems that he is able to focus more on training and less on the females during the training sessions.

Training sessions with Spree are going great. She is now joining the others – sometimes we see her in the same pool with Allie or Semo. She has figured out how to fit in with the new group and with time, hopefully, she’ll gain some new pals. She seems to be very comfortable working with all three adults and is enjoying getting back to her routine.

On weekends through April 13 (Farm Babies), we are going back to scheduled training sessions in Discovery Bay. They will be short, but everyone should get a chance to see the dolphins and get a first glimpse of April and Allie in action!

-Jenny, marine mammal trainer