Paul Bradley gets to decide what tricks to teach Tyler, the 600-pound sea
lion at the New England Aquarium in Boston, and he wouldn't change his
job for the world. "It's amazing to connect on a personal level with
a sea mammal," says Bradley. "Each animal has a distinct personality, much
like people. You never know what the mood will be coming into work."
Bradley attributes much of his success as a marine mammal trainer to patience.
"I maintain focus when training a new animal," he says. "A big challenge was
getting Tyler trained so we could brush his teeth."
Along with keeping the animal's teeth pearly white, the job consists
of other husbandry training, such as taking ultrasounds and X-rays, and drawing
blood from animals like sea lions, sea otters, whales, dolphins and even polar
bears.
Bradley monitors the sleeping and eating habits of the three harbor seals
at the aquarium with a small handheld computer. The seals, who share their
home with three sea otters, sleep at night, and the staff sets up a camera
overnight to observe their habits. This study of behavior is called an ethogram
and it helps discover the information necessary to help care for the mammals
effectively.
Bradley has always been interested in sea life. He grew up in Florida and
was a scuba diver before he started working for an aquarium in Miami. He started
off cleaning cages and scrubbing the area where the mammals lived.
"It was an apprenticeship," says Bradley, noting that you have to start
at the very bottom to get ahead in the marine mammal field. "I had a good
basic knowledge of marine mammals. I was always fascinated by them."
After housekeeping for about a year, Bradley learned how to perform shows
with the animals, a part of his job he still does now.
"It's tough sometimes, seeing the animals in captivity, but I can
see it from both angles," he says, referring to the animals being kept in
a confined area. "It's this or extinction, sometimes." The animals that
are kept in the aquarium may someday be used as part of a captive-breeding
program.
Research is done on the animals that will affect other animals throughout
the world. A female harbor seal at the New England Aquarium has cataracts
and may need surgery. Depending on the success or failure of the results,
other aquariums may choose the same option.
Bradley is also a dietitian, deciding how many pounds of food his animals
can eat a day. Tyler the sea lion noshes on 30 pounds of herring and squid
for nourishment.
Bradley encourages young people who are interested in this type of work
to pursue their education. "There are programs in which you can receive a
degree in marine mammal training, or animal psychology, or you can major in
marine biology or zoology," he says.
Heather Koopman works studying harbor porpoises. She is working on her
PhD at Duke University and travels to Canada's Grand Manan Island each
summer to study the small porpoises' fat content.
"They are small animals and the water in the Bay of Fundy is cold," says
Koopman. "It's amazing to see how they adapt to their environment."
Koopman always wanted to be a marine biologist, "ever since my parents
and I would go on vacation to Florida and see all the neat marine life when
I was about eight years old," she says. "I've always been fascinated
by marine animals."
Her favorite part is learning new things about the porpoises' blubber.
"I'm known as the fat person," she says with a laugh.
"I work seven days a week," she says. "It's rewarding work, but I
strongly urge anyone to come into this field with both eyes open. It's
not easy work."
Koopman studied marine biology at university. "I have traveled all around
and became hooked after taking my first 'field trip,'" she says.
She traveled to Australia and Sweden before moving to North Carolina in 1996.
Her advice to people wanting to get into this profession is to focus on
school, especially sciences and math. Try to get your foot in the door by
volunteering with a program, or writing to people to try to get an internship.
"It's who you know. Once someone has worked for us and done a good
job, we are willing to recommend that person to anybody," she explains.
Koopman also stresses that it's important to be good at both laboratory
and fieldwork, to be able to think on your feet competently, and to be able
to adapt to the environment.
Dan Odell, a research biologist for SeaWorld in Florida, has worked there
since 1987. Prior to that, he spent 13 years on the graduate faculty at the
University of Miami's marine lab. "I push too many papers at the moment,"
he says, referring to his job duties. "I have three part-time graduate students
who work for me and do the things I really want to do."
Odell says the hours of the job depend on what kind of marine mammalogy
one is doing. "For some folks, it is satellite oceanography and they spend
all their time at a computer terminal," he says.
"Molecular biologists spend most of their time in the lab. If you are someone's
technician, you could work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. But when there is fieldwork to
be done, you do what is necessary to get the job done, which
could mean long days and weekends."