Sea lion trainer must be media savvy, OK with the odd bite
Candidate must be OK with enduring ‘animal bites, pathogens and chemicals’
Help wanted: Successful applicant will be media savvy, universitytrained, capable of lifting an awkward 22 kilograms, and comfortable with “animal bites, potential pathogens and chemicals.”
These are all part of the job description posted by the Vancouver Aquarium for a senior marine mammal trainer, with responsibility for Steller sea lions on display in the former beluga pool — now billed as Steller’s Bay.
While the posting doesn’t specifically say so, it also includes all the herring you can eat.
“Yes, it’s there for snacking on if you want,” said Brian Sheehan, the aquarium’s marine mammal curator.
The job posting is created by the departure of an animal trainer and the creation of Steller’s Bay, where up to four female Steller sea lions are on public display. “In the past, we’ve done research in our back area,” Sheehan said. “Now we can do it right in front of our visitors.”
Sheehan said Monday that a sea lion trainer accepts some risks of a bite, as do veterinarians dealing with cats and dogs. “There’s always the chance for something to happen,” he said. “We’ve had some nips here and there. I can probably count them on one hand.”
For the record, that’s a hand with all digits intact.
The reference to pathogens refers to bacteria in a sea lion’s mouth, and the chemicals to various cleaners used at the facility, including disinfectants, he said.
A total of eight female Steller sea lion pups were snatched from Triangle Island off northern Vancouver Island between 1997 and 2003 to be used for research by the aquarium and the University of B.C. Research started at the aquarium, then expanded to the openwater site in a program funded by the U.S. to research a dramatic decline in Steller sea lions in western Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.
The Open Water Research Station in Port Moody, opened in 2003, has suffered more recently from lack of funding. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provided the program with more than $1 million a year at its peak, but that dropped to $300,000 in 2016.
According to the aquarium’s job description, the senior trainer will be responsible for implementing “new animal behaviour into shows” while displaying “sharp speaking skills, stage and camera presence.”
The successful candidate must also be familiar with the aquarium’s Ocean Wise program, designed to promote sustainable seafood consumption.
Required education includes a three-year university degree, scuba certificate, first aid training, and a minimum two years’ experience working with pinnipeds — fin-footed mammals that include harbour seals. Working conditions include periods of standing, exposure to slippery conditions, and working in inclement weather.
The aquarium, which has also posted a basic trainer position, would not reveal the range of salaries to be paid for the positions.
There are an estimated 48,000 Steller sea lions on the B.C. coast during winter. The breeding population had dipped to an estimated 3,400 animals before protection in the early 1970s.