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.photoslider_main img {border: #93e4ff 10px solid; } .photoslider_thumb {border: #93e4ff 5px solid; } 11/22/11 We wanted to give you a quick catch up on our two new arrivals! Abby and Sonoma have now been at Ocean Connections for six weeks and have successfully integrated into their environment and new pinniped family. Our trainers have been consistently working towards establishing routines and developing strong relationships with our new stars. Both sea lions have responded beautifully and are cooperatively working on training goals which include learning new behaviors and voluntary medical care. They both had a visit from their veterinarian this past week and received a clean bill of health along with their pool mates. Both girls appear to be enjoying their new pinniped pals. On a daily basis Sonoma can be found romping and playing hard with Diego, a 7 years old male. Abby enjoys her days with the other “mature” sea lions by swimming and sunbathing. Regardless of the weather, both of these girls have discovered the spoiling our indoor holding pens offers and can be found nightly snuggled up between Slick and Diego under heat lamps! With winter closing in quickly, we are all anxiously engaged in progressing animal training for our 2012 season.     < Back to Current Events

Below is a list of our most frequently asked questions. If your question isn't answered here, please email and we will respond as soon as possible. If you have an immediate question, please call Ocean Connections at 414-453-5527 ext 1. General Questions Aquatic Adventure Sea Lion Splash and Caring for Flippered Friends Underwater Journey Summer Camps Private Parties

Do you know your carbon footprint? A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted by a person, household, building or a company and released into the atmosphere each year. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide can trap heat in the atmosphere and can have an impact on global climate change. Almost everything we do in our lives contributes to our carbon footprint. Anything that requires burning fossil fuels including heating and lighting buildings to driving your car can add to your carbon footprint. The increase in greenhouse gases can cause global temperatures to rise and change climates drastically. A major concern is ice melt resulting in the loss of habitat for animals and the rise in sea levels. Carbon footprints are a vital tool to understanding how human behavior and actions can affect climate change.  To test your carbon footprint, use the Carbon Footprint Calculator provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to see how you impact our world. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html   Ready to Take Action? You can reduce your carbon footprint and the impacts on our world by taking simple steps to reduce your carbon usage. Simple steps like carpooling and recycling can make a big difference in our world. If you are looking for a more active step to take, consider planting trees that can help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen to reduce greenhouse gases.  For more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, visit our Eco-Friendly Tips page! You can also consider purchasing carbon offsets. A carbon offset represents a reduction in carbon emissions somewhere else when you cannot make the reduction yourself. When you purchase carbon offsets, the proceeds help found a reforestation project or support renewable energy projects. All of these efforts work towards the goal of becoming carbon neutral.  To purchase a carbon offset, visit carbonfund.org!

Make Ocean-friendly Seafood Choices Every year, humans consume over 80 million tons of seafood. This does not even include the fish animals in the wild need to eat. The take home message: we eat A LOT of fish! It is easy to do your part to make more informed and sustainable choices in seafood with the help of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Pocket Guide The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Pocket Guide is designed to fit easily in your wallet or purse and outlines the best choices in seafood.  Their website also allows you to easily access the most updated Pocket Guide to download to your personal devices. Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California research to find the healthiest and most sustainable choices of seafood and compile the information into these handy pocket guides. There are 3 categories: Best Choices, Good Alternatives and Avoid. Seafood Watch scientists look at fishing and farming practices, natural populations and health concerns to determine where each kind of fish will fit into the categories of the pocket guide. These guides are a ready-resource to help you make informed choices the next time you purchase seafood at a store or restaurant. Just pull the guide out of your pocket or use the Seafood Watch website and determine if the fish you want to purchase is a sustainable choice. You may have to ask questions about where the fish comes from or the way the fish was caught, but its all about awareness. The more people who are talking about sustainable seafood, the healthier our world’s oceans will become! For more information or to download your own Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Pocket Guide, please visit www.seafoodwatch.org    

Meet Sonoma! Adult female California sea lion Born on July 3, 2000 Daughter to Sport Average weight is approximately 200lbs Sonoma was born at Ocean Connections on July 3, 2000. She was Sport’s fourth pup and was a welcome addition to our family. Sonoma spent her first year of life with us, learning and growing, but was transported to the Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina in the fall of 2001 to assist in their sea lion demonstrations. Sonoma then went to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago in May 2009 before arriving back at Ocean Connections, once again, in October 2011. Sonoma never missed a beat in coming home and popped right back into her "home" environment seamlessly! Sonoma is a bundle of energy and enjoys playing and chasing her other sea lion pals. She can often be seen romping with Diego in what appears to be a good old game of tag! We are all thrilled to have her back and excitedly progressing with her training goals and medical work. With her playful antics, she is no doubt a crowd pleaser!  

Ocean Connections is dedicated to the field of marine mammal science and education. It is our goal to provide the best possible environment, training and care for our marine animals with the focus of educating the public about marine life, environmental protection and conservation. We encourage you to learn more about current conservation issues and simple steps we all can do to help protect our environment. Everyone can make a difference by choosing sustainable seafood, picking up litter and observing wild animals from a safe distance. Learn more tips by exploring our conservation resources. Saving the world may sound complicated, but it starts simply by having an appreciation for the world in which you live.