A rational explanation for the bucket thing.
[ This was left in "drafts" too long, and got scooped. ]
Now you can learn the grim truth about everybody’s favorite bucket-loving seal. Non-fiction, I swear.
Minazo was forced to perform various stunts before audience at each mealtime, such as holding a bucket with one flipper, bending back like a prawn, and standing still while a keeper jumped and clung on him. The hard work made him exhausted and might have caused his early death.