Watch the video: “Catch the Fish” video game – sea lion Spike is the “most avid gamer on the San Diego Bay”.
“May I introduce: Spike, the most avid gamer in San Diego Bay”, with these words researchers of the US Navy introduce this sea lion, who plays a video game they developed.
Spike carefully follows a fish on a screen that he is supposed to catch using a round cursor. US Navy scientists in California trained sea lions and dolphins to play video games as part of their research into cognitive enrichment of marine mammals. Spike presses four buttons with his nose, controlling the moving cursor on the screen. “His ability to understand the concept of controlling a cursor on a screen and then completing a series of more challenging games is the first documented success in testing the cognitive abilities of California sea lions with an animal-driven interface,” the Navy said. Spike expresses distinct “joy” when completing the mazes, according to the instructors, and has voluntarily played along for the past three years, even without food reinforcement.