That's called a “hat tag” (or party hat as we like to call them) and it helps our animal care experts identify individual patients, which is critical for getting them the right nutrition and medications. This is especially true when there are a large number of patients in one pen or pool. Being able to quickly identify patients reduces the amount of time that we have to spend with each animal, which reduces stress on the animals as well. We used to use plastic but now they're made out of biodegradable wood . They are attached to the fur with a special type of waterproof glue, and these tags will fall off when the seal sheds this fur, leaving no lasting mark. We call them “hat tags” because they are so lightweight that they simply rest on top of the animals’ heads like a hat.

Okay, thank you.