TACOMA, Wash. — Bjorn is very much a "California" sea lion.
“He's a really laid-back kind of sea lion," says Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium zookeeper Sheriden Ploof. " He is not super uptight.”
He may also be the ultimate survivor. Not all of his human interactions have been as friendly as the one with Ploof.
Two years ago someone shot Bjorn off the coast of Southern California, a felony offense.
“Sea lions are seen as nuisance animals,” says Ploof.
The blast left pellets in Bjorn’s brain, blinding him.
“We think maybe he can see shadows out of one eye,” says Ploof, “but we are still getting to know him and we aren't quite sure yet.”
The Marine Mammal Care Center took in the starving sea lion and began hand feeding and training Bjorn. He made friends with other rescues. The care center even introduced Bjorn to his namesake, actor Alexander Ludwig of The Vikings.
Bjorn is a 400-pound sea lion. He eats a lot so he’s expensive. Earlier this year care center president Amber Becerra made a public plea to find Bjorn a new home, which is how he wound up at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
Ploof has been training sea lions for more than 5 years. They're all motivated by fish of course, but she knew Bjorn would offer a different kind of challenge.
“We have to use a lot more verbal and tactile cues with him and we have to teach him a different way of learning,” says Ploof.
She taps a wood platform, calls his name, and dangles fish near his whiskers. When Bjorn leaps out of the water, we realize Bjorn has survived not one, but two vicious attacks.
“He's the first sea lion that I've ever seen with a large shark bite like that,” says Ploof.
She adds that it's natural for visitors to feel sympathy for Bjorn, but she hopes they also learn a lesson about co-existence from this ultimate survivor.
“It's their ocean too,” she says, “and they need the fish to survive so we have to figure out how we can both exist together, and share the fish and share the ocean.”
Bjorn makes his public debut Saturday July 3, 2021.
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