Rosey Omar Remo and Romulo 2017 has been an especially interesting year at Coral World, and this brief end-of-year update will attempt to summarize all of the excitement (both good and bad) that our sea lion family has endured over the past year. Our animal training team is thriving! Coral World was excited to welcome…
Recently, all five South American Sea Lions at Coral World had the opportunity to participate in a study conducted by the Marine Science Center in Rostock, Germany. The study helped to gather data on species-specific characteristics of Pinniped vibrissae. Vibrissae, otherwise known as whiskers, are extremely sensitive and work like receptors to pick up on…
Contact: Lee Kellar, General Curator FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Phone: (340) 775-1555 x 222 Email: [email protected] CORAL WORLD ANNOUNCES NEW ARRIVALS Coral World Ocean Park is happy to announce the arrival of two new South American sea lions. Freddie, a 620lb, 6 year-old male, and Rose, a petite 250lb, 14 year-old…
We recently came across an incredible blog written by Marla Murasko about a recent visit to Coral World Ocean Park with her son Jacob. She is a proud special needs mom and Lifestyle Blogger. Birthday Party with a Sea Lion at Coral World During our Springbreak vacation this year, which always seems to fall right…
St. Thomas is home to all kinds of marine wildlife. If you visit one of our beaches, you may see fish, reef sharks, turtles, stingrays, or bottlenose dolphins. What you will not see are sea lions. There are no sea lions in the Caribbean, other than the four South American sea lions living at Coral…
At Coral World, our sea lions participate in their own health care. One of the most important health-related, or “husbandry,” behaviors they perform is a voluntary blood draw. Drawing blood is extremely beneficial to the sea lions’ veterinary staff, just as it is to any person’s doctor. By analyzing an animal’s blood, trainers can proactively…
We’ve met both Franco and Remo in a few of our previous blogs. Franco is a very laid-back animal, while Remo is full of energy. This time we’re going to meet their “little” brother, Omar! He is the smallest of the four South American sea lions living at Coral World, weighing in at an underwhelming…
They really got creative and fun with their challenges and their messages. Very proud to support ALS. Scott Hjerling & Remo Tyler in Shark Tank
June-November is storm season in the Caribbean, and just as many families along the coasts or on islands have evacuation plans, so do Coral World’s sea lions. We can’t leave our boys out in a storm, as you can imagine it wouldn’t be too fun for them. So how do we protect our four South American Sea Lions? Our Marine Gardens exhibit room doubles as a sea lion hurricane shelter! This concrete building is sturdy enough to withstand even the largest storms, is air conditioned to keep the animals cool, and provides enough space for all of them to share comfortably. Now that we have a place to shelter our sea lions, the second question is how do we get them inside? There is a path that leads from their pools to the Marine Gardens building, so it should be…
When you’re looking at animals, it’s often very difficult to tell the difference between a male and a female. Coral World is home to a wide variety of animal species, and whether you’re looking at a turtle, a stingray, a shark, an iguana, or a lorikeet, it’s safe to say you have no idea if you’re looking at a boy or a girl. The sea lions at Coral World are the exception to this rule. Sea lions are known as a sexually dimorphic species. This is a fancy way of saying that males and females look significantly different. You don’t need a detailed physical exam or to look underneath them. You just need to look at them – if you know what to look for. Male sea lions grow much larger than females. South American sea lion males, like the boys…