Day two of marine adventures!

I was unsure if anything could surpass day one at Seaworld San Antonio but day two had so much to offer as well! The morning call wasn’t so early and started with a few presentations during breakfast. We heard from the Seaworld San Antonio social media team about unique ways to engage your fans and capitalize on your investment in a few social media sites. I have always been a firm promoter in the far reach of social media and these guys displayed several examples and real numbers to illustrate how successful social media is. Some main points for social media contact: Cute kills and pictures are worth a thousand words.

We then heard from one of the animal curators at the park that was a trainer with most of the animals and now along with his role at Seaworld is an actor and a San Antonio Spurs announcer! He was full of personality and oozing positivity as he spoke about the Whale Done philosophy of managing people. Whale Done is a book inspired by a visit to Seaworld. The animal training inspired the author to take a look at positive reinforcement and how it could relate to people as well. If it works for whales it will work for humans. This will be a book I definitely order and read. I’ve heard about It before but was never inspired to actually purchase. After being engaged by the fabulous speaker, I was hooked with a desire to learn more.

Next up, some animal time. After sitting in a room for a bit it was time to visit the sea lions! We also had the opportunity to chat with their completely inspiring trainers that are enthusiastic about their animals and roles in their lives. All of the trainers we interacted with had the same passion and it showed. Not to mention, we did get to pet a sea lion and do some behaviors with them. My behavior was fitting…. Dancing!

Next up… A fabulous interaction with flamingoes! They are interested in hair and they sure liked me…

And lunch with the killer whales!

The afternoon was filled with a fascinating talk on reproduction and artificial insemination of marine mammals. It’s great to have that insider knowledge to pull on whenever I need it.

We also had a visit from a penguin ambassador and saw their indoor 27 degree exhibit. This is penguin breeding season so the four species (King, chin strapped, rockhoppers, gentu) were busy laying eggs and incubating. In the same exhibit hall they had puffins! One of my favorites.

Lastly we had some round tables to discuss concerns/issues/ideas at each of our facilities and give people a chance to talk with others in the same field.

Sea World were awesome hosts of TAZE but it’s not over yet! We are headed to the San Antonio Zoo today!!