BIAZA Newsletter | Winter 2017 | Issue 13

Events

Photo: Misty Nicholson

BIAZA seal and sea lion workshop By Michelle Pywell, BIAZA Co-Chair Carnivore Focus Group 35 delegates, representing 18 different collections attended the seal and sea lion workshop held in September at the National Zoological Society of Wales. Registration was a loud affair as everyone was talking about their most favourite subject, namely the seals and sea lions they take care of, as well as catching up with people they had not seen in years. A brief introduction included the work that the Aquatic Mammals Working Group has done over the last few years which has focused on collating information about nutrition and the environment. Results were circulated on handouts and can be viewed on the BIAZA website (under Carnivore Focus Group). By asking each delegate to write down one thing that they wanted to take away from the day (which they proceeded to throw at me as paper aeroplanes!) we were able to identify priorities which included enrichment ideas, networking and making contacts. Kate Broad from Colchester Zoo kicked off proceedings by giving an excellent presentation on the sea lion pool at Colchester. I believe that their enclosure is what every collection should be aiming for. The pool is salt water, cleaned by ozone and UV (no chlorine) and is not painted. As a result the sea lions do not experience any eye problems and the exhibit looks very natural. Andrew Greenwood is a partner of IZVG and an internationally recognised expert in marine mammal care. Andrew gave an extremely informative and interesting talk on the health issues experienced by seals and sea lions, covering skin, eyes and teeth. This was extremely valuable as he presented photos of different problems demonstrating how to tell the difference between a bite/abscess, a fungal skin condition, or a cataract from an ulcer. He emphasised how important it is to explain what you see, rather than to tell the vet what you think it is, as this saves a lot of time. We then watched Becky Evans and Tom Wootton carry out a sea lion feeding and training session with our three female Californian sea lions. Afterwards I demonstrated how we train Caper, our male sea lion, for medical procedures such as lying down for x-rays and injections.

Presentations from both these events can be found on the BIAZA proceedings page of our website. If you are organising an event and are interested in obtaining BIAZA certification you can download the course proposal form and guidelines by logging in to the BIAZA events page. For more information contact the BIAZA office at: conservation@ biaza.org.uk

Tim Savage and Alex Pinnell from ZSL Whipsnade gave a wonderful and honest presentation on how they weaned their Californian sea lion pup. ZSL Whipsnade had tried to encourage natural weaning using many methods and only resorted to weaning the pup when the dam rejected him. The day culminated with a BIAZA certified training workshop which was ably delivered by ZSL Whipsnade’s Matt O’Leary. It involved us splitting into teams and putting together training plans for different behaviours. Enrichment ideas were also discussed and shared. Ultimately, the workshop was a huge success - so many dedicated, outgoing and passionate people. It is thanks to them that it was such an amazing day. As part of our initial paper plane icebreaker a number of points were identified where more time and research are needed to help answer specific questions. But with such an amazing group of people willing to share their knowledge, time and experience we aim to look into these issues further, by gathering information and communicating through Facebook and email. Watch out for a two-day workshop in 2017.

Speakers left to right Matt O Leary, Michelle Pywell, Kate Broad, Tim Savage, Alex Pinnell

11 BIAZA News • Winter issue 13