On March 5, 2006, Summer and Calli, two hand-reared California sea lion pups
traveled
to a new, permanent home at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
in Washington DC. Here
are some snapshots of their journey.
L to R Co-pilot Chris Granger, Transport Team – Brennan
Slavik, Kirsten Sedlick, Pilot Jim Slavik, Michele Hunter.
Thank you Jim for donating this first class flight for
Summer and Calli.
Summer enjoying
the flight
Seats were removed to accommodate the special
passengers and their cages were secured.
After quarantine period Summer and Calli
will be enjoying this wonderful big pool and enclosure
Maureen, 28 year old California sea lion
will be Summer and Calli’s new exhibit mate
Keeper Kim Smith and Maureen
Summer and Calli
Washington DC capelin is good!
Summer and Calli greet their new keeper,
Biologist Linda Moore
Summer
and Calli Update April 5, 2006
Calli
Summer and Calli
Update from Keeper Kim Smith in Washington,
DC
Summer and Calli arrived in Beaver Valley today! They
came out of the kennel onto the apron of our large holding
pool and were a little tentative - for about 30 seconds
- and then they discovered the very deep (to them) pool.
They went wild swimming and chasing each other and doing
quick turns & flips all over the pool. Calli became
the braver of the two and checked out the small little
pool tucked in the back corner. They decided they really
liked the pools! They would occasionally take a breather
on the side of the pool - but they generally went non-stop
for several hours!
At 11:30 they had their first training & feeding session
in the valley. Calli was quite the superstar, very focused
and eager. Summer was a little more needy and just followed
Calli all around. (Did someone paint a target square on
Calli's back? Obviously Summer thought so...) Lots more
play and some rest time in the afternoon.
One brief meeting through the fence with Maureen, DC's
28 year old California sea lion. The girls were THRILLED
to see Maureen and raced to the fence to greet her. With
noses at the fence line, Maureen did one little greeting
and then jumped back - barked like crazy and GALLOPED as
fast as possible back to the safety of her big front pool.
She couldn't be coaxed more than half way back for the
rest of the day. The girls called and called to her to
no avail. So, intros will go slowly and we'll start feeding
Maureen closer and closer to the fence line. Hopefully
she'll go up to visit tonight and we'll see improvement
tomorrow.
Summer and Calli's last feeding/training session went
very well. Summer was much more confident and they separated
easily and both ate the Capelin and Herring.
Summer
and Calli Update April 10, 2006
Summer and Calli,
two 10-month-old California sea lion pups are the newest
additions to the Beaver Valley section of the National
Zoo. They will go on public exhibit beginning Wednesday,
May 3, at 10 a.m
Photo credit: Jessie Cohen
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
April 10, 2006
Photo credit: Jessie Cohen
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
April 10, 2006
Photo credit: Jessie
Cohen, Smithsonian’s National Zoo
April 10, 2006
Calli (top left) and Summer (top right), two 10-month-old
California sea lion pups, take time out from swimming
to get some training from their keepers at Smithsonian’s
National Zoo. (bottom)
