MADISON’S meal is being prepared when we walked into the kitchen. She eats a few times a day, depending on her schedule. Today she is doing a photo encounter, which means she is meeting a gaggle of adoring fans who would like to have their pictures taken with her. Her managers are also hoping to get her blood sample today, one of the regular biological samplings they do, and only with her full cooperation, to make sure she is healthy.

This means Madison, a five-year-old sea lion and the youngest female of her species in residence at Ocean Adventure Park , must be bribed with fresh fish chopped into bite-sized pieces. Her treat is carefully weighed and packed in a small ice box. At her weight she consumes five kilograms of fish daily, given to her at intervals during training sessions, performances and medical check-ups.

Unstressed animals

Training is a way of life for the animals in the park. “We train them for simple management, not just to make them do a show,” says Bianca Espinos, Pinnipeds Manager and Lead Trainer. “We have to teach them to go here or there when they need to be moved, or to do this and that when they need to be examined.”

But Madison , when we meet her later, does not seem to be in the mood. We watch as her managers try in vain to get her to stay put for blood sampling. She is only interested in the fish, and would wiggle away when they try to do something else but throw her a treat. Her ice box empties, and they let her go. Clearly she is in no mood for a show later.

Bianca says they never force the animals in the park to submit to samplings. “We never restrain them. Stressed animals would give you a different picture,” she says.

On with the show

A short while later, we see Thalia, a larger female sea lion, gamely taking the stage to show off her painting skills. Clutching a brush in her mouth, she moves her head up and down, left and right, brushing against the canvas with colors selected by members of the audience. She happily poses for the cameras too.

Behind her, eight other sea lions, including two born and bred in the park, lounges under the sun or slips into the cool water for a quick swim. Among them, Coby, the largest male, and Simba, a female the size of Thalia, are awaiting their turn to do the final show for the day.

These celebrities don’t require much preparation before facing the audience. They know their routine well. Coby would later balance a ball on his nose, and demonstrate his high EQ (emotional quotient) with the Fish-On-Nose trick, which, according to Bianca, “is the most clever trick they’ve learned so far”.

During the Fish-On-Nose trick, Coby lies on his stomach, while tasty chunks of fish are lined up on the floor right next to his nose. He waits until the trainer claps his hands once, which is the signal that Coby can eat the nearest chunk of fish. Then he waits again. The trainer makes a motion to clap his hands without actually doing so, and Coby does not react. The trainer then invites the audience to clap their hands. Coby does not move; he isn’t fooled. The trainer finally claps his hands once again, and Coby gleefully chomps on the fish right next to his nose.

Hunting instincts

Back in the kitchen, more buckets of fresh fish, carefully weighed and labeled for individual animals, are being prepared for the other stars Pounder, Tonka, Loki and Zac. Pounder and Tonka, a pair of false killer whales, have earlier shown us their toothy grins while playfully dousing some guests with water. Now they wait in an enclosure beside Loki and Zac, a couple of dolphins, with whom they are doing a grand finale performance.

We wonder what kind of grooming they require before facing their audience? A bit of scrubbing perhaps, to exfoliate dead skin cells and make them look their shiny best? Jeanette Rodriguez, Lead Trainer for Cetaceans, shakes her head. No, they don’t scrub the animals. But if their skin sports an unhealthy glow, they are given Vitamin E, along with the regular dose of multivitamin tablets that are stuffed inside the fish that they eat.

Like their sea lion neighbors, the whales and the dolphins are fed regularly at intervals during training, actual shows and check-ups. Their intake is based on their weight, and is individually recorded and monitored in a large Marine Mammal Diet board in the kitchen. To preserve their hunting instincts and keep their mind alert, sometimes their fish meal is put in a fish bottle, a large plastic container with holes and a floater. The bottle is thrown in the water, and the animals must learn to nudge the bottle in such a way that the fish inside would fall through the holes.

Resolving dolphin issues

In their separate enclosures, the whales and the dolphins wait. Pounder and Tonka are enticed to swim to a cage nearer to the grandstand. Loki and Zac are isolated from the four other dolphins and lured to another cage beside the whales.

“Fifteen minutes before the show, we put the dolphins who are doing the show together in one enclosure,” explains Jeanette. “This is to give them time to resolve any issues they might have with each other, like, if they’re courting, or are not feeling very sociable. We give them time to get ready.” Like with Madison , if they are not in the mood, then a replacement is slotted in.

But Loki and Zac are ready as can be. The emcee introduces them and with the theme music of “Hawaii-Five-O” blaring in the background, they make their appearance swimming at incredible speeds and doing an impressive jump out of the water, making the audience go wild. The show has just begun.