Israeli wildlife advocate impressed by Sea World

Veterinarian and wildlife advocate Yoni Peres chats with Katie, a Sea World dolphin trainer, about methods used in training.
Veterinarian and wildlife advocate Yoni Peres chats with Katie, a Sea World dolphin trainer, about methods used in training.


Story and photos by Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison
Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO – A veterinarian who is the immediate past president of Israel’s Lateva Nolad (Born Free) organization, which treats injured birds, mammals and reptiles and sends them back to nature, gave Sea World high marks for its education, rescue, and conservation programs following a behind-the-scenes tour.

“Their goals and mission are not just to entertain people and make money, but also to protect the wildlife in the world,” said Yoni Peres, DVM.  “They stress it wherever you go in the park; every show you go to they talk about it, so it penetrates to people’s awareness.”

Peres, whose father, Shimon, is a past president and prime minister of Israel and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, said he was impressed with the fact that Sea World is part of a network of rescue centers up and down the West Coast of the United States.  Last year, Sea World reported rescuing 1,449 animals, of which 990 were sea lions, in just its sector. “It is amazing,” said Peres.  “And they release them back to nature.”

Aware of the controversy about keeping Orcas in captivity, Peres commented: “I don’t see anyone abusing animals here.  The only thing is that the animals are enclosed in relatively small spaces but it seems like they give them the best care and the methods they use for training are humane, not stressful.  They use a lot of positive reinforcement, so that is a comfort.”

From left, niece Gal Lazar, Sky Masori, daughter Eden Peres, wife Sigal Peres, daughter Maya Peres, Sea World guide Shawn and Yoni Peres.
From left, niece Gal Lazar, Sky Masori, daughter Eden Peres, wife Sigal Peres, daughter Maya Peres, Sea World guide Shawn, and Yoni Peres watch a bat ray.

Peres toured Sea World on April 20 with his wife Sigal, daughters Maya and Eden, and niece Gal.  My grandson Sky and I had the privilege of accompanying them.  At various stations, we met with different guides and members of Sea World’s zoological staff.

We learned that in a normal year, Sea World will rescue between 100 and 200 animals.  Last year, however, with the waters off the California coast warming up as a result of the El Nino effect, the fish that are basic to the sea lion’s diet swim farther from the shore.  As a result the sea lions have to swim farther than they normally do, which can be difficult, even exhausting, for nursing mothers and newborns.  This can result in the sea lions losing as much as half their body weight, and when they are rescued, one can see, even through their fur,  their ribs, hip bones and shoulder bones.  When the animals are brought to Sea World, they are hydrated, given a broad-spectrum antibiotic, and are fed, some by tube, others with a baby bottle.

At such point as the animals can eat on their own, they are put in with other sea lions of the same age.  Sea World watches closely to see if the sea lions compete for food, because that is what they will need to do in the ocean.  Before the sea lions are released, Sea World brings their weight to a little bit above normal, so that they can have an extra reserve of body fat to sustain them.  An orange tag is placed behind their flippers, each tag bearing an international identification number.  Thus if a sea lion needs rescue again, veterinarians will be able to access a case history.  Only a very few sea lions are determined to be unable to live on their own in the wild, a determination made not by Sea World but by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A tour guide told the Peres family that there is an easy way to distinguish between sea lions and seals.  Like people, sea lions have external ears, whereas the ears of seals are interior. “They are sealed!” said a guide.  Another telltale clue is that seals have short flippers whereas sea lions have longer ones.  “Lion” and “long” both start with the letter ‘L.’

The Lateva Nolad program, based at the Zoological Park in Ramat Gan, Israel, also rehabilitates a large number of animals that have become injured or sick, according to Peres.  About 2,000 animals are treated each year, “mostly birds that have been injured, poisoned or electrocuted,” he said.  “A big problem with the vulture is that they don’t get enough calcium,” he said.  “So now, if a cow or a farm animal dies, we put them at stations all over the country, so that there are bones available.”

Sea World breeds endangered species for return to the wild.  Among those we saw on the tour were a Light Footed Clapper Rail, and Poison Dart Frogs.

Indigenous peoples place poison from the black and yellow Poison Dart Frogs on the tips of the darts that they shoot with a blow gun.  The reason the frog is poisonous is because of its food chain. Ants eat poisonous leaves and the frogs eat the ants.  Take the poison out of the food chain and the frogs become non-poisonous.  Sea World breeds the non-poisonous variety and sells them to pet stores in an effort to take the poisonous ones off the market.

We were told that in addition to its own conservation efforts, Sea World contributes $10 million annually to help conservation programs around the world.

Sigal Peres feeds a fish to a dolphin at Sea World
“Open Wide!”  Sigal Peres feeds a fish to a dolphin at Sea World

At a briefing besides Sea World’s dolphin pool, the Peres family learned about the dolphins’ training regimen.  Using a whistle to signal the dolphins that they have done a good job, Sea World first teaches them how to put their rostrums (snouts) on a buoy.  After this behavior is learned, Sea World uses a target pole (with a small buoy at its end) to teach more behaviors.  Dolphins don’t hear human voices, but they have excellent eye sight, with which they can distinguish different human gestures from each other.  Eventually the target pole is no longer needed; dolphins will respond to human gestures. Rewards for behavior include fish, rubdowns, and play time with their trainers.

Eden Peres is exultant in the Penguin Encounter at Sea World
Eden Peres is exultant in the Penguin Encounter at Sea World

Another part of the behind-the-scenes tour was entering the back of the Penguin Encounter, which is kept between 22 and 27 degrees Fahrenheit, with lighting keyed to the change of seasons in Antarctica.  While the summer of the Northern Hemisphere is approaching, it soon will be winter in Antarctica and in the Sea World exhibit.  The breeding season of the Emperor Penguin is approaching, and after the female lays the egg, the male will do all the incubation for 65 days.  “What a good idea!” commented Sigal Peres, who is an elementary school teacher.

It is not only the large mammals or the penguins that are fascinating at Sea World.  My grandson, Sky, 9, and the Peres family children were entranced by the small Cleaner Fish that are located in an exhibit very close to the entrance of Sea World.  Put your hands in the water and leave them still and the fish will gently graze on your hand, cleaning off any dried skin particles or dirt.  Elsewhere in the park, there are Cleaner Shrimp, which do much the same, but tickle more.

Perhaps of all the exhibits, the one that prompted the most exclamations of amazement and pleasure from the Peres family was that of the Archer Fish, a small fish with eyes that can focus on the world above the surface of the water, and make adjustments for the refraction of light.  If an insect, or another morsel of food, appears on a low hanging branch, or a nearby rock, the archer fish can shoot a stream that will knock the prey into the water, and then quickly gobble it up.  The Archer can shoot a stream of water a distance of six feet.

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com .  Comments intended for publication must be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the U.S.)