Rescued a 120-pound sea lion from drowning today. It was so sick it was unable to move, and being rolled around in the surf by the incoming tide. We thot it was dead, but I saw it move it's mouth. We went running into the water - me and another gal grabbed it with our hands and pulled it up on the beach. We had to lift and push it into the crate. Took it back to MBO for meds... don't know if it will make it or not. But if not, at least it didn't drown or have the sea gulls pecking it's eyes out while it was still alive...
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Not Every Rescued Sea Lion Survives
Just went to the Current Patients page on The Marine Mammal Center website. They have 69 animals in the hospital right now. I see that only one of the sea lions we rescued on Monday is listed. Carmel seems to have survived, but I don't see Soquel on the list. The mortality rate is not good, less than 50% of rescued animals survive, I think.
But every animal, every one of them, that we pick up on the beach would surely die if left there alone. And their death is ugly, usually having their eyes picked out by hordes of sea gulls while they are still alive, and then their brains are eaten. They die starving and dehydrated, and sometimes harassed by dogs and stupid, mean people while they cannot defend themselves.
Life is rough for the inhabitants of our oceans and beaches, and Nature is cruel and relentless.
But every animal, every one of them, that we pick up on the beach would surely die if left there alone. And their death is ugly, usually having their eyes picked out by hordes of sea gulls while they are still alive, and then their brains are eaten. They die starving and dehydrated, and sometimes harassed by dogs and stupid, mean people while they cannot defend themselves.
Life is rough for the inhabitants of our oceans and beaches, and Nature is cruel and relentless.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Slowing Down... For Now
The onslaught of starving sea lions seems to have slowed down, and now we are rescuing larger animals that are very ill. I heard recently that marine scientists are estimating that 70% of the sea lion pups died this year. It was a record year for births and also for deaths.
So we get fewer reports lately. Last Monday, we picked up two sea lions, Cliffhangar and Keshawn, but both died at the Sausalito hospital. Yesterday we picked up a 56 kg sea lion from Seacliff Beach, named Soquel, and a 28 kg sea lion from Carmel River Beach, named, what else, Carmel. Both appear to be ill, rather than wounded. Both animals were stranded on a busy beach, and were surrounded by people and dogs.
Normal, healthy sea lions will, like any wild animal, immediately run back into the water when approached by people or dogs. So when these guys stay on the beach, listless and lethargic for hours and hours, we know they are sick. Even the sick guys can put up a huge fight when netted, but that doesn't mean they should not be rescued.
These two animals we picked up yesterday will be transported to the Sausalito hospital today and, hopefully will survive and be returned to the water soon. But, we received four animals yesterday from the San Luis Obispo facility that had to be transported to the main hospital in Sausalito.
We do transports in three stages: the MBO (Monterey Bay Operations) volunteer drives down to King City and meets the volunteer from San Luis Obispo with their animal patients, usually exchanging vehicles, and returning with the animals to MBO. Then, in the early evening, an MBO volunteer drives the animals up to Half Moon Bay, meeting a volunteer from the Sausalito facility, and again exchanging vehicles and patients. We are usually short-staffed at MBO, so finding drivers is often a challenge. For several months, I did both north and south legs of the trip on my shift day. But last night, I only did the north leg.
Here is what I posted on Facebook last night:
So we get fewer reports lately. Last Monday, we picked up two sea lions, Cliffhangar and Keshawn, but both died at the Sausalito hospital. Yesterday we picked up a 56 kg sea lion from Seacliff Beach, named Soquel, and a 28 kg sea lion from Carmel River Beach, named, what else, Carmel. Both appear to be ill, rather than wounded. Both animals were stranded on a busy beach, and were surrounded by people and dogs.
Normal, healthy sea lions will, like any wild animal, immediately run back into the water when approached by people or dogs. So when these guys stay on the beach, listless and lethargic for hours and hours, we know they are sick. Even the sick guys can put up a huge fight when netted, but that doesn't mean they should not be rescued.
These two animals we picked up yesterday will be transported to the Sausalito hospital today and, hopefully will survive and be returned to the water soon. But, we received four animals yesterday from the San Luis Obispo facility that had to be transported to the main hospital in Sausalito.
We do transports in three stages: the MBO (Monterey Bay Operations) volunteer drives down to King City and meets the volunteer from San Luis Obispo with their animal patients, usually exchanging vehicles, and returning with the animals to MBO. Then, in the early evening, an MBO volunteer drives the animals up to Half Moon Bay, meeting a volunteer from the Sausalito facility, and again exchanging vehicles and patients. We are usually short-staffed at MBO, so finding drivers is often a challenge. For several months, I did both north and south legs of the trip on my shift day. But last night, I only did the north leg.
Here is what I posted on Facebook last night:
Did a transport to Half Moon Bay this evening in a stinky sea lion poop van. Drizzle and pea-soup fog in the dark - a gnarly drive back. A 132-mile RT, plus 56 miles back to where I live...
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
It's About Time!
This blog has been languishing for quite some time, while I've been busy with my Nikon D300, and even busier volunteering with the Marine Mammal Center's Monterey Bay Operations rescue team. So I'm thinking that I will be writing probably more about the rescues than the photography. I love working with sea lions, ellies (elephant seal pups) and harbor seals. Rewarding and heart-breaking work. TMMC has rescued over 1300 marine mammals so far this year, from our three sites: Marin Headlands, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Bay in Moss Landing, where I volunteer.
Seeing hundreds of starving juvenile sea lions is heart-breaking. Being able to rescue and save some of them is rewarding. For me, it has meant 12 to 17 hour shifts on my days: Mondays and Fridays. It has meant seeing first-hand how sick and polluted our beautiful and majestic ocean has become due to human pollution and trash. If each one of us would stop using and discarding plastic bags, it would make a difference. If each one of us would pick up a bag of garbage each time we went to the beach it would make a difference. If each one of us would stop throwing our trash into the ocean when we are on our boats, it would make a difference. The difference between life and death for the marine mammals and birds who call the ocean their home.
Me helping rescue a sick 500-pound sea lion from a Santa Cruz Beach
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