Wednesday, April 25, 2018

The Baby Dolphins of SeaWorld Orlando

Hey everyone, it's Alberto, your Self-Proclaimed Cetacean Whisperer.

I'm writing this blog post to talk about SeaWorld Orlando's Dolphin Nursery. This is where pregnant female dolphins go to have their babies. Trainers take care of the mothers and their calves here; monitoring their health, and keeping them physically and mentally stimulated. There are also a few babysitter dolphins to help the moms with their babies. In 2017, Dolphin Nursery was revamped to have underwater viewing windows, which means baby dolphin playtime!!!

I tend to go to there during work breaks, or even when I'm off duty and just want to play with the babies.

Currently, there are 2 mom and calf pairs: Hailey with Storm and Damara with Delilah. There are also 5 babysitter dolphins: Dash (who happens to be Damara's mom), Yar, Ariel, Tinker, and Naia.

The babies are just so cute. I love how they almost always come to play with me. Sometimes, the older dolphins jump in too. They love to see bubbles and colorful stuff. They also love to play chase and follow stuff.

Delilah
Hailey and Storm
Yar
Damara

And of course, there are training sessions to keep the dolphins physically and mentally stimulated every day.





Sunday, April 22, 2018

Totally Trua

Hi everyone, it's Alberto, your Self-Proclaimed Cetacean Whisperer.

Even before working at SeaWorld, I've loved the animals there. However, since I got hired, I've been starting to have favorites. One of them is my buddy Trua.


I first saw Trua in a video where someone was playing with him. He was just a calf in the video. Then over the years, I saw more videos that showed his personality.

When I visited SeaWorld in 2012, I saw Trua in person. In 2016, a few weeks after I got hired, I went to SeaWorld to play with the whales. Trua came to play with me; the first the time I was one on one with a killer whale.


Since then, I've had more interactions with him.

 
So Funny


He made my 26th birthday special

Someone loves bubbles

Into the eyes of Trua...
Just recently, I had a Killer Whale tour with Trua. It was so much fun.




Alberto and Trua for the win!!!

Trua is my favorite killer whale. He's such a curious, interactive, and playful whale, and he sometimes hangs out with Makaio. Trua is the best, and I really want to work with him someday.
Trua and Makaio

Big Hug!!!



Some blog changes and an update

Hello everyone, this is Alberto. It's been forever since I made a blog post.

I have been changing my blog a bit. First of all, this is the only blog I have now; I deleted the others because I found them to be excessive. Also, I changed the name, so I'm now your Self-proclaimed Cetacean Whisperer. I'll explain below.

I tend to try and play with dolphins and whales at marine facilities that have public underwater viewings, so that's why I gave myself the title and changed the name of this blog. Whether or not the animals come over is entirely up to them, but I keep trying, and when they do come over, it's just lots of fun.

I'm currently employed at SeaWorld Orlando in Park Operations. I basically keep everyone in their seats at Dolphin Theater, and I clean up after shows. I help the park operate! And then after work (if I have time before closing), and between shifts, I play with the animals; I just love that my employment gives me free admission.

Outside work, I'm working towards my dream job; exercising, volunteering at the animal shelter, and taking courses. It's a long road, but I'll get there.

As always, the blog will be about my passion for the ocean and cetaceans, interesting ocean stuff, conservation, my journey to be a trainer, and whatever highlights I can post about when I get there.