Summer was fun, albeit short, and now it is time for the kids to go back at school. While the kids had the summer off from classes, here at Moody Gardens school is always in session!

To celebrate kids going back to school we enlisted some help from Porter our harbor seal to participate in some problem solving enrichment activities. Enrichment activities help keep all of our animals, like Porter, not only in good physical shape but in good mental shape as well. For this enrichment exercise our biologists constructed an apple out of harbor seal friendly items and asked Porter to bring it back to the trainer after it was thrown into the water. Of course, here at Moody Gardens our animals can choose if they want to perform a task or if they would rather not. During our enrichment activities if an animal completes the task they were given, they get rewarded through positive reinforcement. As you can see from the video below, Porter was very willing to partake in the activities and was positively rewarded with fish for completing his task. This added activity into Porter’s everyday life helps keep him sharp and in him best physical and mental health.

Please note that although enrichment experiences for our animals occur year round, the Aquarium Pyramid will be closed for Wave 6 of our renovations August 22 through November 11. The renovation will be complete in May 2017!