Skinny will get top billing Monday at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.
And why shouldn’t she. It’s not very often that a harbor seal reaches the age of 40 and Monday, June 1, is the celebration of her birthday.
Skinny is the oldest harbor seal in the Northwest, and the third oldest in the United States, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which keeps track of such things for accredited members. The average lifespan of female harbor seals is 25 to 30 years.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium will celebrate its golden girl with a birthday party June 1 in seal style. Fish filled ice cakes and piles of ice cubes to munch and lounge on will be on the menu. Entertainment will include enrichment activities like Kong toys stuffed with fishy snacks.
Skinny has been a part of the Oregon Coast Aquarium family from the beginning. She was found starving and orphaned as a pup on a beach in Everett, Wash., on June 1, 1975. She was deemed non-releasable and moved to a long term home at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma. She later moved with a few of her exhibit mates to Newport just before the Aquarium opened in May 1992.
In her prime, Skinny was the dominant harbor seal in the Aquarium’s exhibit. She would often try to swipe fish other seals dropped, especially if it was her favorite food – herring.
She lost interest in maintaining the top spot when she started to lose her sight. The Aquarium’s mammalogists noticed the change, and trained her to respond to tactile, rather than the visual cues.
Despite her loss of eyesight, Skinny continues to learn new behaviors. Her most recent achievement is a high energy exercise oriented activity called a “tail walk.” When cued, Skinny will pop vertically out of the water to her middle, and then use her tail to waddle backwards in that upright position.
Aquarium visitors that wish to spot Skinny in the Pinniped Exhibit should look for her silver coat speckled with black spots and her surprised expression. “The easiest way to spot her is by her big eyes and how she holds her whiskers forward to help her feel her way around the exhibit,” said Brittany Blades, a mammalogist at the Aquarium, in a statement released by the Aquarium.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium is dedicated to the highest quality aquatic and marine science programs for recreation and education so that the public better understands, cherishes, and conserves the world’s natural marine and coastal resources. An accredited Association of Zoos & Aquariums institution, the non-profit organization is ranked as one of the top 10 aquariums in the United States. The address is 2820 S.E. Ferry Slip Rd., South Beach, Newport, Oregon; aquarium.org, 541-867-3474.
Terry Richard
trichard@oregonian.com
503-221-8222; @trichardpdx
Happy birthday to you, Skinny, 40, harbor seal at Oregon Coast Aquarium
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