Megan, age 13, and Joanne, age 33

Intergenerational Description of Joint Project:

Megan has a dream to become a marine biologist. Joanne, Wild Animal Trainer at the New York Aquarium, inspires Megan with her skill for training marine mammals—mainly Spook, a 43-year-old geriatric gray seal, who has learned to calmly and willingly participate in activities from new play to medical procedures. Megan admires Joanne’s concern and patience for animals of all ages. They explored ways to share this message with the world.

Celebration of Rachel Carson’s Sense of Wonder:

Megan and Joanne believe that people want to save what they can see. Bringing Spook’s story to life through photographs and words, they hope to inspire the world to know that animal as well as human care has no age limit.

Essay:

Live Long and Prosper

Spook, the gray seal, is a living legend.

At the age of 43, Spook is the oldest gray seal on record at any aquarium or zoo in the world. He has surpassed his gray seal relatives in the wild that can live to 30 years of age.  Spook may be a senior citizen among seals, but retirement is not on his radar. 

Born on January 13, 1965, at the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn, New York, Spook began his life as a record breaker. He was the first gray seal ever born in an aquarium or zoo. Through the years, Spook has lived a full life at the Aquarium, and continues to thrive in his golden years, thanks to special care from his wild animal trainer, Joanne and the Aquarium staff.

Spook’s gray seal lineage comes from the large side of the pinniped (fin-footed marine mammals) family tree. He is eight feet long and weighs 750 pounds.

As a male, he has the species’ distinctive giant bending nose. When floating at the top of the water, it is easy to see why these seals have acquired interesting nicknames like horsehead and their scientific name derived from the Greek word Halichoerus grypus, meaning hook-nosed pig.

In Spook’s senior seal years, his trainers and caregivers at the Aquarium have come up with unique ways to keep him happy and comfortable. They use enrichment (anything that mentally or physically stimulates an animal) to maintain his natural behaviors. Joanne spearheads her group in creating opportunities for Spook to learn and that challenge him to problem solve.

Although Spook lives in New York, he has the inherent foraging behavior of his wild relatives. Gray seals in the wild live in the frigid, subarctic waters on both sides of North America, reaching to the Baltic Sea. These seals fish for their food by diving down 475 feet in the cold waters where they can stay for up to 20 minutes at a time. Joanne simulates a fish search for Spook by scattering them all around his exhibit (both in the water and on land.) She hides fish inside his toys and puts them inside frozen blocks of ice. Spook is an expert fish finder, and uses all his special adaptations to catch them, including his bristly whiskers.

In nature, seals use their whiskers, called vibrissae, to locate food in the deep, dark, murky sea. By tossing fish into the water, Joanne and the trainers give Spook the chance to put his whiskers into action detecting the vibrations that the fish send out. His fancy for fishing on Joanne’s enrichment expedition provides him with all the exercise he needs.

In his advanced years, maintaining and monitoring Spook’s health is particularly important. Spook has been trained to assist the Aquarium staff in his medical care by doing various behaviors. Spook comes out of the water and lays in different positions that allow an examination of his body. He has learned to remain still so the veterinarians can give him his regular preventative vaccinations. Spook can open his mouth, like a big yawn, when Joanne or another caregiver ask him, allowing them to examine his teeth and gums.

Due to his extreme old age, Spook has poor eyesight and needs regular applications of eye drops. Joanne has guided him to accept routine continuing care through the sensation of touch. A gently placed stroke by Joanne’s hand lets him know what to expect.

Being a wild animal trainer can sometimes be a dirty job! Spook has recently learned a new and valuable skill— he voluntarily participates in routine blood collection from his hind flippers. When Joanne first started to teach Spook the behavior, it required an extra trainer to hold his hind flipper for about one minute. The trainer knew it was important not to let go until Joanne gave the signal. Joanne sensed something was wrong by the look on the trainer’s face. Spook had to go to the bathroom during his training. The trainer was a trooper. She held on to his flipper to make sure the session was a success, although a smelly one!

Spook is a very special animal. Since he is the first gray seal born and oldest to live at an aquarium or zoo, Spook has taught Joanne and her colleagues a lot about his species as a whole, and that animal as well as human care has no age limit.

Three hundred years ago, gray seals were nearly hunted to extinction as a source of oil (like whale oil.) In the late 20th century, the gray seal’s plight worsened as fishermen found them in competition for their fish. Through education and animals like Spook, there is hope that times like these are in the past.

Spook is an ambassador for gray seals and all marine mammals. He has inspired several generations of people to support conservation of our planet. Protecting gray seal habitat including the rocky shorelines and their surrounding seas helps save killer whales, harbor seals, and other species that belong to this vital web of life.

Caption: Joanne has asked Spook, the gray seal, to participate in routine blood collection that is used to monitor his health. She is assisted by Nick, Animal Trainer and vet tech Marisa, Vet Tech, of the New York Aquarium.