Talon gets a Little Fishy

A big, athletic, guy, Talon needs lots of energy to do high flying behaviors like this.

All of the dolphins and sea lions at DRC are fed restaurant quality fish. That means that you or I could walk into the fish house, pick out a herring, capelin or smelt and fry it up to eat ourselves. The dolphins basically have several catered five star meals a day, that are individualized based on their age, weight, dietary needs and other considerations.

Since there is no behind the scenes at our facility, we like to show our guests what exactly is in the dolphins’ buckets. After all, guests and members help us provide such excellent care for all of our family members so it makes sense to show them what their contribution goes towards. However, Talon, who must really been in the mood for breakfast, decided to take matters into his own flippers.

As one of our narrators explained the variety in Talon’s bucket, his trainer thought it would be nice of him to show off his fish to the crowd. She put a yummy snack in his mouth, and then asked him to strut with it. While he swam alongside the causeway to give visitors an up close and personal view of his meal, he also very slowly and sneakily began to maneuver the fish down. It reached his tongue and then, with a gulp, was swallowed right down the hatch.

When he got back to the dock, his trainer asked where the fish had gone. Talon let out a sly giggle. Our guests laughed along with the big boy. His trainer then sent Talon on a big dive and rewarded him with a big, juicy herring. There was no way he was going to show that off either. It was swallowed right away and the session continued.