Photo: Jay Willett/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — An Atlantic harbor seal at the New England Aquarium has gone viral for its cute connection to a yellow rubber ducky.
In a video posted to the New England Aquarium’s social media accounts, the 33-year-old mammal, Reggae, can be seen playing around with the ducky and hugging it while he’s in and out of the water.
The bright yellow toy is more than just a friend for Reggae, as it also helps him practice his memory and problem-solving skills.
Serena Wierman is Reggae’s handler at the aquarium and says that the aquarium works to provide all the animals with interesting tasks and games.
“Our enrichment really tries to add as much variety for our animals throughout their day, but also adds an option for our animals to have a lot of choice and control even in their training sessions,” said Wierman.
This enrichment includes games like “find it,” where Reggae is tasked with matching rubber duckies with one another to learn similarities between objects.
Reggae also plays games of fetch and balances the ducky on his stomach.
The duck is also used to help soothe Reggae as it’s given to him as a reward when he’s cooperative during health examines and blood tests.
Fans of Reggae and his ducky can get a glimpse of the duo just outside the entrance to the New England Aquarium during training sessions that take place from 11:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports.