First day of spring brings long-awaited meeting with marine performers
On March 1, the Dolphinarium at the Primorsky Aquarium resumed marine mammal presentations. Our belugas, bottlenose dolphins and walrus Misha did not perform for six months, during which time the trainer team updated the program that lets the marine mammals demonstrate their amazing skills and behaviors.
“Everything went fine,” said Anton Brykov, Principal Trainer at the Dolphinarium. “The program featured belugas, Pacific bottlenose dolphins and our star – Pacific walrus Misha.”
The renewed program focuses on environmental education. Before each species involved in the program enters the arena’s pool, a short educational video is shown to give an insight into some aspects of the species’ lifestyle and habitat.
Students of Vladivostok Gymnasium No. 1 were the first audience to see the presentation and happily shared their experiences with us.
“I liked walrus Misha,” said Darina, one of the students. “I frequent this place, [and] he is a regular participant in the program. I always wait for him to perform, [and] I’ve been to the Primorsky Aquarium at least twenty times.”
“It was the third time I had been to the Dolphinarium, and today’s presentation was fantastic,” said Artyom, a sixth-grader at the gymnasium. “The thing I liked the most was the walrus’s fascinating singing.”
As early as this week the audience will see another performer, Mario, a two-year-old northern fur seal born at the Primorsky Aquarium.
The Dolphinarium staff is also planning to get the young dolphins born at the facility last year and beluga calf Kalina, who will soon turn two, engaged in the program.