Near the entrance to the parking lot of the Virginia Aquarium, a giant pool houses the Aquarium's adorable seals. There are four seals currently staying in the tank: Peter, Piper, Hector and Rudder.
Peter, Piper, and Hector were actually born in captivity which means they were born in an aquarium. Rudder was born in the wild. He was found washed up on a beach injured and brought to the Aquarium for treatment. Rudder was determined not healthy enough to be released back into the wild for fear of his safety and health, so he now resides at the Aquarium.
At the Aquarium, the seals are taken care of by the animal trainers. The trainers work with the seals, and they make sure the seals are healthy. The trainers/staff feed, clean, and take notes and reports on how the seals' day went with training or normal activity. The animal trainers teach the seals commands (unless it is an animal that will be released back into the wild). It takes time to build trust or a bond between the trainer and the seal. Once the relationship is built, the seals can be taught many different commands like bark, growl, or to swim to a rock in the pool and back. With these learned commands, health check-ups are easily done, since the seal will come, stay, or go to a location for weighing.
The animal training field is competitive. In order to stand out and be more likely to get a job in the field, it is recommended to have a college degree and if possible take a psychology class in college. It looks good if you are an intern at an aquarium or at a veterinarian’s office or a place similar to the field. To be an animal trainer, you also need to be charismatic and a people person, interacting with people should come easily to you.