JKN

Juno~The funny little 8 year old whale who is fed from the green/white marked bucket and targets a whale tale. I describe him as our curious jiggly whale with wide eyes. I LOVE sitting in on Juno sessions. He is always learning and it has been absolutely fascinating to watch his training and desensitization sessions. Lindsey has been working with him to desense him to a toothbrush. The whale's get their teeth done about once a year and they each have an individual toothbrush just like ours. They are battery powered and make an annoying buzzing noise. I have been helping Lindsey by turning the toothbrush on and off when she asks me to. The first time I did it he swam away. She then had me stand farther back, he has gradually been approximated to the point where the toothbrush can now go into his mouth with the back of it touching his teeth while on turned on. He is the whale that you always see interacting with enrichment and with the public at the windows. He can blow bubble rings. He is such a smart and funny whale and I would love to see how he has developed a year from now.

Kela~She is the whale that I have worked with the most. I do not even know how I am going to say goodbye when the time comes. Kela is a whale that you have to earn everything with. Right now she is very vocal during our sessions, stays for tongue rubs, and is energetic and attentive in our sessions. However, when I first started working with her she was quiet, when through the motions, and would back away from station. It has been amazing to watch our relationship form. She is a funny whale. She gets really excited during sessions and will make weeeeeee sounds after nearly every bridge. During tongue rubs she will go underwater and spin in a circle and will give cute little vocals as if to say "more please". Kela has also shown me examples of aggression. Yelling at Juno, head nodding at Juno, jaw popping at the windows. It might look/sound cute to an outsider, but we do what we can to reduce the aggression.

Naku~Sweet, solid, patient, sharing. These are just some of the words to describe this amazing whale. Also fat. At 1400 she is the largest whale in our exhibit. I have learned so much with her. She has put up with all my mistakes (dropping things into the pool being one) and has stayed with me in sessions while I was thinking my way through it. She loves tongue rubs and will vocalize to get them. She loves ice, we can toss ice right into her mouth!! She is a very squinty whale and I am amazed that she can see our sD's and bridges. She will always share her tongue rubs with whoever else is on her session, regardless of who ended her.

I love all of these whales and it is near impossible to choose a favorite. They have all taught me so much and I will miss all of them a tremendous amount.