9th
May is an important day for Russia – it is Victory Day marking capitulation
of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in
the part of the Second World War, following the signing of the surrender
document in May 1945. This year it was planned and
celebrated big - ‘the 2015 Moscow Victory Day
Parade’ took place in Red Square in
Moscow, commemorating the 70th
anniversary of the capitulation.
Being a landmark jubilee parade honouring the 70th anniversary, this
year's parade was one of the biggest and
largest to be held in Russian history.
Away, ‘SEAL’ is reference to the United States
Navy's Sea, Air, Land Teams, commonly known as the Navy SEALs, the U.S. Navy's principal special operations
force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command and United States Special
Operations Command. The SEALs' duty is
to conduct small-unit maritime military operations which originate from, and
return to a river, ocean, swamp, delta, or coastline. All SEALs are male members of the United
States Navy. The Navy SEALS were in
operation in the killing of Osama.
The Seals (animals)
have streamlined bodies and four limbs that are modified into flippers. Though
not as fast in the water as dolphins, seals are more flexible and agile.
Pinnipeds have well-developed senses—their eyesight and hearing are adapted for
both air and water, and they have an advanced tactile system in their whiskers
or vibrissae. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. Although pinnipeds are widespread, most
species prefer the colder waters of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. They
feed largely on fish and marine invertebrates; but a few, like the leopard
seal, feed on large vertebrates, such as penguins and other seals.
The Siberian Times
reporter and some other Press report that ‘even the seals are in patriotic mood
as Russia marks sacred Victory Day’ – patriotic mood (!) as they wore military
headgear, raised the flag, carried knives in their mouths, and even indulged in target shooting !!! While elsewhere in Russia dolphins and seals
have been trained for real-life military activities, this is more of a show.
The seals, called
Winnie the Pooh and Laska, march with toy guns wearing military hats for a
performance linked to Victory Day on 9 May. They dive through obstacles with
the plastic knives in their mouths, hoist a flag and shoot with water guns. Baikal
seals were earlier trained to do tricks like playing with a ball, jumping
through hoops, drawing, singing and dancing. Evgeniy Baranov, founder of the world's first
seal circus, said: 'The new show is a logical development of the tricks that
our seals learned earlier. With every rehearsal they get better and better.'
The seals - Winnie
the Pooh and Laska seals live in a special aquarium in Irkutsk, cooled to 2-to-3 degrees Celsius, as in Lake
Baikal, the deepest in the world. They
are fed with the same food as their wild, namely Baikal oil fish and goby fish.
The seals are reported to be smarter and
can solve logical, technical puzzles'.
The two seals,
named - Winnie the Pooh and Laska - have been trained to swim and underwater
march and carry 'rifles'. A video shows the two seals - dressed in military
headgear - raising a flag and shooting at targets after performing a proper
salute. Their performance coincided with the annual Victory Day parade in the
Russian capital, this year marking the 70th anniversary of the victory over
Nazi Germany. Evgeniy Baranov, founder of the world's first seal circus, who
has also taught the seals to 'dance the waltz', said: 'The new show is a
logical development of the tricks that our seals learned earlier.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
11th May 2015.
