Posts Tagged ‘Sea Lion’

Apr
01

Sea Lions Pick the Winners of the Final Four!

Posted by in Animal Info,Marine Mammals,Sea Lions

 

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is taking over the city of Houston this weekend for the Final Four! Our sea lions here at the Houston Zoo have joined in the celebration by making their selections of who the game’s winners will be. They had a pretty great track record during the Sweet Sixteen, selecting some upsets such as Butler and Kentucky (see here for the full details).

Our sea lion Kamia has picked the winners of the two Final Four games taking place in Houston this Saturday. Watch the video below to see her sink a few baskets and announce her picks.

Do you love watching the sea lions in action? If so, don’t forget that there is an entertaining and dynamic sea lion show every day here at 11 am and 2:30 pm that is FREE with your Zoo admission. You can also schedule a special behind the scenes look at sea lions, and if you’re lucky, you may even get a sea lion kiss!

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Mar
29

FOTO FRIDAY Winner of the Week!

Posted by in Contest,Funny,Marine Mammals

Welcome to the Houston Zoo’s FOTO FRIDAY Caption Challenge results post from Friday, March 25!

Last Friday, we posted a photo on Facebook and asked you to leave your best caption in the comment section. Then readers could “like” each caption comment to vote for their favorites. Their votes, combined with those of our own panel, determined the caption to appear under the picture right here on the Official Houston Zoo Blog this week. We hope you’ll come back for the fun EVERY FRIDAY.

YOUR VOTES HELP DETERMINE THE WINNERS!

Here is the picture that was posted on Facebook last Friday, with the winning caption by Melissa Fellers!!!    WOOT SAUCE!

* Milissa Erdelt Allen: “And that, sweety, is the story of why seals let the humans have the dry parts of the Earth. Now it’s time for bed. Good night! *smooch!*”

Aw mom...do I have to? My friends are watching!!

 There was a tie for First Runner Up between:

* Michael Byron “I know you ate the last fish popsicle! Let me smell your breath.”

* Milissa Erdelt Allen “And that, sweety, is the story of why seals let the humans have the dry parts of the Earth. Now it’s time for bed. Good night! *smooch!*”

* Erik Burington ‎(Maybe if I act cute, and kiss her enough, she won’t send me to school!) I (kiss) love (kiss) you (kiss) mom (kiss,kiss, kiss)

Second Runner up:

* Connie Quinn-Reese “See, I told you…my nose is WAY pointier than yours!! Whats up with that??”

And just ‘cuz it was so creative, an Honorable Mention goes to:

* Sheila Livingston: “Let’s play telephone. “The clownfish said the anemone was shocking”-pass it on!” (We didn’t just “Like” it Shelia, we LURVED it.

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Thanks to everyone for participating

and

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!  

DID YOU KNOW:

The Houston Zoo has TWO sea lion shows scheduled every day of the week? You can come see them at 11:00 AM and at 2:30 PM.

You can also take a behind the scenes tour at Sea Lions, see where they go when off exhibit, meet them in person, enjoy their antics and even get your own kiss (makes a great picture)!  Visit http://www.houstonzoo.org/events/tours/cat/

Makes a great date, gift or family outing that you will remember forever!

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Check out our Facebook page to see the rest of the entries. We hope this brought a smile to your face. And stay tuned for next Friday’s photo! Tell your friends, share this on Facebook, Twitter or your own blogs, and start your office pools to see who can come up with the best lines. (To show the picture and link on your social media, just click the little icons under the title SHARE THIS on the lower left of this post).To find us on Facebook, type in Houston Zoo Inc. in the search field or go to http://www.facebook.com/houstonzoo and become a fan.

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May
07

Photo of the Day: May 7

Posted by in Marine Mammals,Photo of the Day,Sea Lions

Astro the California Sea Lion

Sea Lion-Astro-1

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Jun
15

Members of the Sea.I.A…Well, Almost

Posted by in Featured,Mammals,Marine Mammals,Sea Lions

Okay, so we’ve all heard of Navy SEALS…but how about Navy…Sea Lions? That’s right, while Deano, Cali, Kamia, and their soon-to-be-named new friend swim and play here at the Houston Zoo, their far-off sea lion cousins are working as highly trained members of the Navy Marine Mammal Program.

Click On My Photo To Vote For My Name

Click On My Photo To Vote For My Name

So what do they do for the U.S. Navy? Sea lions recover pieces of Navy hardware from the ocean floor and reattach them to the machinery from which they originated. Preventing unauthorized trespasses onto and around piers, harbors, and ships comprise the majority of their work. It’s important to note that these animals are never used to attack or confront trespassers.

Much of the work these animals do has replaced the work of human divers. Due to their exceptional underwater eyesight, hearing, and, or course, swimming capabilities, sea lions can endure the murky, tumultuous underwater environment of the ocean much more comfortably and efficiently than people.

Extremely High IQ

Extremely High IQ

Another important reason as to why sea lions are the animal of choice for such extensive endeavors is that they have an extremely high intelligence level. Some studies have found evidence that these animals may have the ability to reason logically, making it relatively effortless to train them when compared to other less adept species.

The Navy Marine Mammal Program Foundation specializes in working to better understand the nutrition, behavior, ecology, and physiology of these animals in order to generate greater public awareness of their lifestyle and of the importance of their species being protected.

*Our Species of The Week Contributor is Stefanie Hanselka

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