"A WORD in your ear, son. Next time remember, you throw the fish, I catch it. Not the other way around."

Fortunately, there should be no further confusion between Moocha the sea lion and keeper Edward Dalley at West Midland Safari Park, Bewdley, because the staff have been on a course to hone their presentation skills A dozen members of staff working in the park's Discovery Zone have attended a bespoke training package arranged by the Business Unit at Kidder-minster College in time for the busy summer season.

Led by acting tutor Naomi Coleman, the six-week course taught staff - including the sea lion trainers and reptile keepers - how to perform in front of visitors, deliver talks and ad lib when things don't go according to plan - a very important skill when working with animals.

Mr Dalley, aged 20, who has been working with the Safari Park's sea lions both voluntarily and as a trainer over the past four years, said: "This year we've developed a new Peter Pan- themed sea lion show and we really wanted some help in perfecting our acting skills so we could make the show as fun and professional as possible.

"Our tutor, Naomi, was brilliant. Not only did she teach us how to present to the audience but also how to act while integrating the sea lions into the show - something the whole department has found difficult to do. Since doing the course, we have been able to tweak the show and really work on our skills of delivering the best performance time after time.

"My favourite part of the training was the section on ad libbing. More often than not Moocha, or one of the other seals, misbehaves, which makes it hard to keep the show on track. So being able to ad lib well is a real bonus for me."

Stella Hammond, business development manager at Kidderminster College, said: "The college has built a reputation as a leading establishment for workplace training, however diverse a company's require-ments, as was the case here. We are delighted that West Midland Safari Park chose us to help their staff brush up on their presenting skills."

The Adventures of Peter Pan is performed at the park's Sea Lion Theatre three times a day at weekends and throughout the school holidays.

Mr Dalley said: "The show is great fun and thanks to my performance training I am able to play a really evil Captain Hook. Peter Pan, one of our other sea lion trainers, and his sea lion friends Wendy and Mr Smee eventually save Tinkerbell, and I end up in the water."

Cue the applause.