(CN) Animals turned into stars

[Guest guest]

China Daily http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2002-02-05/55473.html

(BAO XINYAN)

02/05/2002

 

A seal trainer at the Pacific Underwater World Aquarium in Beijing, Di Ying

has a girl and a boy - two young seals.

In addition to feeding, teaching and playing with the seals, Di provides

their daily care.

 

The seals are at times timid, naughty, tender and occasionally bad-tempered.

 

Their favourite activities are swimming in the sea and eating fresh fish.

Although unable to speak, the seals use a variety of body movements to

express their feelings.

 

Mother and teacher

 

Di, 22, is from Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. She began

her career as a seal trainer four years ago when she joined the Future World

Amusement Park in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province.

 

At that time, she adopted the two seals as her " children. " When Di first met

them, the seals were just babies who had arrived at the colourful park a few

months earlier.

 

" At first, I was a little bit afraid of the baby seals since I knew nothing

about them, " Di recalled. " But when I found that they were afraid of me too,

I felt it my duty to love them, teach them how to adapt to their environment

and how to make performances. "

 

Every morning, Di arrived at the home of the seals - a small pool filled

with seawater. " The two baby seals always watch me vigilantly, leaving only

their black eyes and big nostrils above the water, " Di recalled.

 

After Di threw some fresh fishes into the pool, the seals rushed to swallow

their favourite food.

 

Holding some fish in her hand, she slowly coaxed the seals to the edge of

the pool, touching them gently, just like a mother fondling her children.

 

" Little by little, the seals were no longer afraid of me. They even looked

forward to seeing me every morning, " said Di.

 

Due to the lack of sunshine at the indoor aquarium, the seals have a

tendency to become ill. Whenever they were sick, Di Ying felt sad, " as if I

myself was ill, " she said.

 

She placed medicine inside some pieces of fish and fed them to the seals.

She also lured them into a little cart, which was specially designed by her

colleagues and moved them out into the warm sunshine during summer or

spring.

 

Di also became a skillful teacher.

 

" My students were happy to play games with me, " Di said. " Afterwards, I

would give them fishes as a reward. "

 

Through playing, the seals learnt to give excellent performances to

audiences at the aquarium.

 

One of their most difficult stunts - " rescuing the baby " - took almost two

months of training.

 

First, the seals were taught to do the backstroke, using a piece of fish to

lure them onto their backs.

 

Next, Di taught the seals to carry a doll in their claws, and more than a

month later, they were finally able to do the performance " rescuing the

drowning babies. "

 

Today, the seals have become famous stars performing for the Pacific

Underwater World and perform their tricks with ease.

 

They do however, require practice periods to ensure a flawless performance.

 

Joys of teaching

 

" From the bottom of my heart, I deeply love my job and the two seals, " Di

said. " My life is enriched by being both the mother and teacher of two dear

seals. "

 

Over the past four years, Di has learned about the many unusual behaviours

of the seals.

 

Benben, the older seal, who is bigger and stronger, often bullies her

younger brother Doudou, grabbing food and snatching his toys.

 

Usually, however, the seals get along well with each other.

 

The seal is believed to be a tender and clever animal, living both in the

sea and on the land, Di said.

 

Although they use their lungs to breathe, they can stay underwater for as

long as 23 minutes and dive as deep as about 300 metres.

 

" They like eating fresh fish and will eat without stopping, " Di explains.

 

The two seals eat four regular meals a day. " Otherwise, they could be fed up

to their death, " Di said.

 

The seals receive breakfast every morning, followed by three other meals

during their performances at 10:30 am, 1 pm and 3:30 pm, eating a total of

7.5 kilograms of fish daily.

 

Although Benben and Doudou are afraid of human beings, they are quite fond

of the narrator who holds the microphone because they know it is show time

and meal time whenever the microphone appears, Di said.

 

Stunning stunts

 

Di brought the two seals to Beijing a year after she " adopted " them. Since

then, they have attracted a great deal of attention from children and

adults.

 

For Di, every show is routine:

 

At 10:30 am, when the audience packs the stands, she puts on her diving suit

and walks to the edge of the pool, touching the water and greeting Benben

and Doudou. Benben jumps out of the water to pull a string that rings a bell

hanging overhead, announcing the beginning of their performance.

 

The seals then begin to swim and " dance " rapidly in the water, following

Di's signals.

 

Unwilling to be outdone, Doudou also jumps high to touch the string so as to

turn off the bell.

 

Then, the two seals swim along the edge of the pool and make funny movements

such as waving their fins, as if sending their regards to the audience.

 

In the middle of the pool, a big ball hangs 1.5 metres above the water.

Benben and Doudou take turns, jumping to hit the ball with their head.

 

" They are capable of lifting their well-carved bodies completely above the

surface of the water, causing a glittering water spray, " Di said.

 

During the sailing session, Di Ying invites a little girl from the audience

to sit in a little rubber boat. Under Di's direction, Benben gets into a

buoy connecting the boat and begins to pull it while Doudou acts as an

escort for the voyage.

 

The climax of the performance comes when Di Ying throws two dolls into the

water, and Benben and Doudou rush to rescue the " drowning babies. "

 

After reaching the dolls, they put them on their chests and then backstroke

to the edge of the pool.

 

The audience is thrilled, laughing, clapping and taking many photos.

 

And, of course, Benben and Doudou are rewarded by Di Ying with lots of

delicious food.