The Sea Lion Cast List

Last Saturday just for fun I asked Parker the sea lion which animal should I should feature in episode 47 of my Hugh’s Aquarium Views videos. His smile said it all.

Here is the cast list of the sea lions I see each Saturday during my volunteer shifts.

Currently, the Aquarium of the Pacific has three male sea lions.

The largest is my big buddy Parker. I’ve known him since he was a little pup and sometimes I still see some of his old playful youthfulness in his demeanor when I work with him. In fact, despite weighing as much as 800 pounds Parker, at least to me, is the gentlest and mildest-mannered of the sea lions toward people. But make no mistake; he is the big man on campus when it comes to the aquarium’s sea lions. I think of him as a combination of The Rock and Jimmy Stewart.

Harpo, on the other hand, is the sea lion most likely to make me laugh with his antics both with and without people around. I’ve watched Harpo entertain himself by taking a feather that he found underwater and placing it in the current of a circulation nozzle just to watch it dance through the water. He also likes to sometimes ad-lib his self-portraits while using the sea lion selfie stick. He’ll take selfies in unusual ways and angles. Harpo treats selfie time like an enrichment session. He has fun. I like to think of him as a combination of Goofy and Ansel Adams.

Cain is the new guy I see on my volunteer shifts. He’s so new that he doesn’t yet have a picture on the food room board. Instead, a staffer drew a caricature of him on it. Cain seems to be of high energy and intelligence. It will be interesting to watch how his personality develops.

In the video, you’ll see the many faces of Parker. Harpo as he takes a selfie with some of the aquarium’s volunteers during volunteer appreciation week. And Cain working on basic training with mammologist Katie. All shot on that Saturday Parker smiled at me.