澳洲雪梨動物園 #Sydney Zoo #sophia

So Abel actually came to us here at Taronga as a young cub after suffering some serious stroke wound injuries. It was at Ottawa Taronga Wildlife Hospital where he underwent rehabilitation. However, due to his young age and the time that it took for him to recover from those injuries, he was deemed unsuitable for release. But instead, he lives a pretty luxurious life here at Taronga. In fact, did you guys know that we all actually have something in common with Abel? Take a look at your hands. Now let's take a look at Abel's front hair. So inside that hairless slipper, we actually share the same bone structure inside our hands. And that's what allows him to feel just like Abel's whenever we're on the edge with plenty of ease. So why don't we watch how Abel goes through the whole? It's using all four of those slippers that he can support his entire body weight, making pretty easy work of the walk there. But those slippers are truly designed for movement in the water. Swimming like this is a natural behavior known as bowing or flopswing. It's a very popular fish way for a seal to travel in the ocean for long distances whilst maintaining a nice speed. Each time he breaches the water, he's actually taking a really quick breath of air. Now seals out in our oceans, they do make amazing predators. But there is another predator out there that often gets a bad reputation, but is in fact a very important part to a healthy ocean. And if you can't already tell, Abel is doing a very good impression of this animal. He knows this one a little bit too well. Anyone have any guesses? Exactly right. Now although he might be the cutest, fluffiest shark you've seen all day, what he's actually demonstrating is another natural behavior seals use to thermoregulate. Being a fur seal, that fur is really good at trapping in that nice floral air. But it's only those naked and hairless slippers that allow him to do that. Now those front flippers of his are also incredibly strong. In fact, he can support his entire body weight on those two front flippers alone. Well done Abel. Now we're waiting for one last thing and that is to wave goodbye. Wave goodbye to Abel and welcome our final seal. The next seal who will join us on the ground floor is a great job for him to recover. It was deemed unsuitable for him to be re-released. But Mondai has actually fathered four pups of his own since joining us here at Taronga, making him pretty happy. He's a very good dad. What do you reckon mate? Very proud of you. But Mondai is out here today to show you all the life of a seal. So often when we think of our seals, we do often think about them spending time on the ground floor. As you can see, land is where they get their best rest. It's a really great place for them to groom that thick coat of theirs. Being a fur seal, he does have two very thick layers of fur. Using those rear flippers, he's got these little claws that make really good hairbrushes. But of course seals, being so flexible, they can also use those front flippers. To get those hydrated. But seals do of course spend a lot of time in the water as well. It's in the water, where just like we saw with Abel, they can expose their rear flippers to cool down their bodies. Or it's using their front flippers, they can actually wash their face to clean those very sensitive whiskers of theirs. Eating a lot of fish, they can often get things like fish scales on their spines along their whiskers. So keeping them nice and clean is the best type of hygiene for these guys. But when it comes to a seal like Bondai, swimming in our oceans, the majority of the time that they're in the ocean, they're hunting for fish. And it's using that focusing behaviour, they're able to get those high speeds to chase down a school of fish. But for seals like these, living close to human communities, you'll often find them hanging around, fishing in the water, fishing trawlers, looking for their next meal. And it's using their sharp and pointy teeth, their incredible strength, and very flexible legs, what they're able to do is latch onto the fishing net. And it's using that strength, they can shake that net, breaking that netting free, and essentially making a really easy feed. So why don't you give us a bit of a demo? Very strong and very energetic today. Swimming isn't the most effective way to break that fishing net, but I promise you, for a very hungry seal, that you would see out in the wild, that would be a very exciting thing for them. But often what happens, when they're interacting with the fishing net, and it breaks loose, that netting then turns into green. And if that's green, that's ten pounds, and if it's green, that's eight pounds. Now if you can imagine a young seal getting entangled in the fishing net, it can mean quite an unfortunate ending for that seal. And as that pup begins to grow, that fishing net will not grow with that pup. But luckily for Bondai, he does have Keeper Jose to help free him from that netting. He's done an amazing job. What do you guys think? Have you noticed just how easily the seals catch the fish when we throw it to them? Well it is all thanks to his whiskers. And we're going to give you guys a bit of a closer look. One, two, three. Well done. And for a seal like Bondai, he's on a very healthy diet, eating over four kilos of fish every single day. But Bondai, how do we feel when all that sea food runs out? No, it's sad. And we join Keeper Jose at the edge of the water to go and see if he can see any fish in the water today. Do you see anything down there, Bondai? Is there something that everyone can do to help? That was a big yes. Now unfortunately, one of the biggest threats that seals and marine life face is overfishing. It is becoming harder and harder for seals to find their food. As you can see, it's becoming harder and harder for these animals to go out into the ocean and find their own food. But there is something that we can do in our everyday lives to help. The next time you're out shopping for sea food, look out for the MSC Blue Fish Tank. Which one's that one? That one there. MSC stands for the Green Stewardship Council, which is a non-for-profit organisation that works with the government to ensure that the way they're obtaining sea food is by using sustainable practices, which means that there's more fish out there in our oceans for our seals, for us, and for the other animals as well. Thank you, Bondai. You're a very happy seal. Way to go, Bondai. Way for our next seal. So the seal species you see is not a species you would find here. They're from the western coastlines of the United States. And Pepper here was relocated to us as a young pup from a zoo all the way in Europe. Now when it comes to working with our animals, it's really important that we train them different behaviours. And all this training, it does take a lot of time and it takes a lot of trust. Our seals don't do anything they don't want to. It can be something as simple as asking Pepper for a mouth-open behaviour so that we can do a good mouth check on his teeth and his gums. But we can also train for more complex or high-energy behaviours, and that's exactly what Pepper's going today. He'll be demonstrating a behaviour known as a high bow, which is where he jumps into the water and touches his nose to that buoy above the water's surface. But he's not going to make it from here, so we'll give him a bit of a run-up. And for this, we need everybody's help. On the count of three, we need you to yell Jump, Pepper, you ready? You can all do that? Yep. All right. Well, on the count of three. One, two, three. Jump! Well, I think you guys did an amazing job but Pepper only had little ears. Pat, does that line it up for you? He said no. So we'll try that one again and if everyone knows the hint. One, two, three. Jump, Pepper! Well, let's give him a big round of applause. It's a great demonstration of how strong those front legs are. Pepper here weighs over 200 kilos, and it's very easy for him to recall himself out of the water. In fact, that is a way that they would actually make a predator out in the wild by quickly crouching in the water and changing directions. Well, Pepper has done an amazing job today, so we want you guys and thank you to remember to show the MSC players this week that you guys can all be champions in the wild. All the way. Goodbye to Pepper. Now we really do appreciate you guys coming down here today and once again, thank you for being here. Thank you. 有請上場