you can train Archie the harbour seal, 22 years old and 260 pounds, a whole range of new social skills.

Archie, the grand-daddy of the seal group at Bermuda Aquarium, will lie on the bottom of his pool until he's told to come up -- if he feels like it.

He is also capable of fetching a ring or a ball, or waving a friendly flipper to his admirers.

And if he's in a sluggish mood, the claps of the crowd can soon have him enthusiastically performing.

His fellow seals Charlotte, 10, Calico, four, Ariel, two, and 14-week-old Pebbles, have their own repertoires too.

Calico, for example, will snort on cue or shuffle out of the pool and roll over.

Training the seals is the job of 38-year-old Dr. Jamie Bacon, scientist and part-time Aquarium worker.

At feeding times -- the seals can chomp through 50 pounds of imported herring a day -- she can often be seen telling visitors about her charges and putting them through their paces.

Their tricks, she says, are designed to entertain but also to illustrate the animals' natural abilities and adaptations.

Archie's disappearances underwater show how the seals can conserve oxygen, sometimes diving for 30 minutes without surfacing.

And his waves show spectators how his flippers resemble the human hand in structure.

"You take some of the things they do naturally,'' says Dr. Bacon. "With seals, waving at another seal means `Get lost'.

"He was doing it for attention one time so we just tried to reinforce it.

When he learns something new you can almost see him pat himself on the back.

"Mostly it's just saying `good' or `no'. They can tell by your tone of voice if you're happy with what they're doing.'' Dr. Bacon defends keeping captive seals by pointing out they breed, showing they must be happy and healthy. And she says few people would have the chance to see them in the wild.

"It's not like Sea World. A lot of it depends on what the animal's mood is.

"There's no show routine where they have to work, and if they don't feel like playing then we leave it.

"They very much clue in on an audience. But then they will have their days when they're simply saying: `I'm not hungry and I'm taking a day off.' "The things they do are fun for the people to watch. We're trying to entertain them but also to show them how neat these animals are.

"An awareness of any animal gets people to appreciate them more and see why they should be protected.'' Seals are not native to Bermuda. The Aquarium's group are a variety from the eastern US seaboard, where in some places fishermen put a bounty on their heads.

One seal that did come to the Island in the 1800s was shot by residents who saw it as a threat.

And a species once native to the Caribbean is now extinct. Dr. Bacon adds: "I think if people don't understand that they're intelligent, if they think they're just hairy fish, they can justify clubbing baby seals on the head.'' Seals are similar to dogs in brainpower, she says, and like dogs some are brighter than others.

"But they're a little more difficult to work with. They're in the water and we can't restrain them. If they don't want to have anything to do with you, that's it.

"They're not programmed instinctively to want to work with people, so you have to break down that barrier and establish trust and make it rewarding for them to spend time with people.

"They do recognise certain people by smell or sight or sound of voice. And they know their own names.

"Part of my job is to get a rapport with them. You don't want to be doing a talk and the animals won't have anything to do with you.'' A Californian, Dr. Bacon researched seals at New England Aquarium in Boston.

Her experience there with stranded and orphaned seal pups was a help when Pebbles, born last May, needed to be hand-reared.

Like her mother Calico, who likes to tease visitors, Pebbles is a big hit with the public.

But she was an unplanned pup. Calico unexpectedly mated with her father, Archie, and there could be problems of crowding as well as more in-breeding.

So if a good home can be found for her, she may leave Bermuda. But her outspoken personality should stand her in good stead.

Even now she's not shy in making her feelings known, says Dr. Bacon. "She'll complain to people watching: `Where's my lunch?'' POOLING THEIR TALENTS -- Trainer Dr. Jamie Bacon brings out the natural skills of Ariel and the other Bermuda Aquarium seals.