Facing Lions

Facing Lions

Marine Mammal Center volunteers work to help the area’s ailing sea lins, seals, otters, and whales WORDS AND PHOTOS By Steve E. Miller

T

he Marine Mammal Center was founded in 1975 to provide care for stranded, sick, and entangled marine mammals along California’s coast from Guadalupe in Santa Barbara County to the northernmost point of Mendocino County. More than 800 volunteers help with approximately 75 creatures at the Morro Bay facility. Funding for the organization comes from private donations and memberships. Since 1975, more than 16,000 animals have been rescued and treated.

Volunteers need no prior experience with marine mammals, because training is free of charge.

The four primary classes are assessment of marine

mammals and field safety, beach rescue procedures and animal basic care and safety, pen boarding, and basic animal husbandry.

Lisa Harper Henderson is the Morro Bay facility manager. She said the organization is looking for part-time volunteers who are reliable and responsible and are older than 18.

Henderson noted that besides the general satisfaction in volunteering, benefits include meeting people from all walks of life with a shared interest, and a tremendous education about marine mammals, husbandry, science, and the environment.

Volunteers also have an opportunity to work in all aspects of the center: rescue, animal care, transport, education/outreach, and development. They may

also work on the crew and observe medical procedures performed by veterinarians at the Sausalito main hospital.

If you’re not interested in volunteering, you can still help by following these guidelines when encountering a stranded marine mammal at any of the beaches throughout California: • Don’t touch, pick up, or feed the animal. They’re wild animals and they can bite.

They’re also easily stressed by humans. Don’t return the animal to the water. Seals and sea lions temporarily haul out on land to rest.

Harbor seal mothers often leave their pups ashore while they’re feeding at sea.

• Observe the animal from a distance of at least 50 feet.

Keep people and dogs away.

• Note physical characteristics such as size, presence of external earflaps, and fur color. This helps determine the species and what rescue equipment and volunteers are needed.

• Note the animal’s condition. Is it weak and underweight? Are there any open wounds?

• Does the animal have any obvious identification tags or markings?

• Determine the exact location of the animal in order to provide accurate directions.

• Call the Marine Mammal Center at 415-289-SEAL (7325). The rescue hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. ∆ Steve E. Miller is Santa Maria Sun’ photographer. Send comments to semiller@newtimesslo.com.

HERDING BOARDS On an extremely foggy December morning, Lisa Harper Henderson (Morro Bay site manager), Marlin Harms, Allison Hrutky, and Bev Wainwright attempted to stop an emaciated adult male sea lion from going back into the surf in Monta単a de Oro.

STRONG AS A LION Even though the sea lion was obviously sick, he put up a tremendous fight, which required all four team members to work in unison.

WARY Marlin Harms held the end of the net, while Bev Wainwright and Lisa Harper Henderson attempted to guide the sea lion in.

At no time does the team ever want to touch the animal, nor get too near because of the beast’s powerful bite.

GOOD CAUSE What looks horrible really isn’t, as the team dragged the sea lion back onto a drier portion of the beach to get it into a carrying crate for transport back to the Morro Bay office. If the sea lion, eventually named Fuerte, weren’t rescued and treated for its Leptospirosis infection, it most likely would have died on the beach.

THINKING INSIDE THE BOX Lisa and Marlin contained Fuerte until the animal carrying crate was open.

COME ON IN Bev opened the carrying crate for the team.

ALL TOGETHER NOW Marlin pulled the net containing the sea lion into the crate, with the team using guide boards in the back to help the animal in.

WEIGHTY ISSUE Marlin, Lisa, Allison, and Bev (hidden) carried the sea lion back to the truck. The animal, despite being extremely emaciated, still weighed more than 100 kilos, so it was a bit difficult to hoist him into the back of the truck.

SUCCESS! After a heated battle to get the animal into its crate and onto the truck, all three of the volunteers were in great spirits.

CLOSING UP Allison and Bev closed an access gate as the team left the dunes area of Monta単a de Oro. The MMC is given special dispensation by the State Parks to access the beach via vehicle.

TWO OF A KIND Marlin and Fuerte sized each other up.

OFFLOADING Bev helped take Fuerte and his crate off the back of the truck.

WELCOME Fuerte was released into a clean pen at the Morro Bay facility.

CLEAN FREAKS All of the equipment and working areas are kept meticulously clean by the volunteers so as not to spread infection to the various animals that come into the facility.

FOOTWEAR Bev Wainwright changed out of her wet socks and shoes after Fuerte’s successful rescue.

PAPERS, PLEASE Allison, Marlin, and Bev filled out the necessary paperwork to send to the Sausalito facility.

Details included exact location, how the animal looked and sounded, and its name.

EVER READY Marlin repacked the rescue truck for the next call.

PUSH FLUIDS Fuerte, the rescued sea lion, needed liquids before his transport north, so the team used guide boards to position him and site manager Lisa gave a subcutaneous injection.

JOB WELL DONE Marlin, Allison, and Bev represented a happy rescue team.

STICKY SITUATION In addition to an eventual diagnosis of a Leptospirosis infection, Fuerte suffered from tar patches on his skin— not uncommon for animals in this area. Also visible is the subcutaneous needle.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION The Morro Bay Branch of the Marine Mammal Center is in the shadow of the Morro Bay Power Plant.

The land was leased to the center for 20 years at an extremely nominal fee by Duke Energy.

CLEAN FROM THE GROUND UP A footbath of diluted bleach, which prevents cross contamination among the various animal pens, reflects a volunteer.

NOT-SO-SLIM SHADY Volunteers (left to right) Mary Lee, Frank Lee, Steve Johnson, and Sue Sawade carried an adolescent sea lion named Shady (each animal brought into the facility is named by the volunteers and no name can be used twice) to the truck for transport to the main medical facility in Sausalito.

LIFE-SIZED Doreen Gurrola, marine science instructor at the Marine Mammal Center’s medical facility in Sausalito, conducted a tour for visitors, starting at a life-size sculpture of an adult male elephant seal.

TASTY! Volunteers at the Sausalito facility make the main food source for the seals and sea lions, which consists mainly of herring “shakes.� This is the blending machine used to make the food.

SUN POWER A group of visitors at the MMC Sausalito facility looked over the complex of pens for the various animals.

Most of the electricity for the pen complex comes from the visible solar panels.

COLD Susan Tripp, a seven-year volunteer, packed ice over a young cetacean carcass recently found in Cayucos on the beach. Cetaceans (whales, including dolphins and porpoises) rarely strand alive, but there’s a tank for the whales at the Sausalito Facility just in case.

PREP WORK A volunteer held a spray bottle of diluted Betadine, preparing to clean the area where a subcutaneous needle will be inserted.

Marine mammals are commonly given fluids at the Morro Bay facility in preparation for transport to Sausalito.

GETTING READY Kayla Hoffman, a volunteer and vet tech, prepared a subcutaneous injection for an animal recently brought in to the Morro Bay facility.

TEAM CARRY Regular classes at the Morro Bay facility train volunteers to properly rescue otters, sea lions, seals, and cetaceans. This recent class was taught

by Shelby Stout, the stranding manager from the Sausalito facility, who is one of the few paid staff members in the organization. The volunteers here are practicing with a sling that helps carry a cetacean without harming its skin, fins, or flippers.

PEN PALS Animal pens dot the Morro Bay facility.

Facing Lions WORDS AND PHOTOS By STeve e. MilleR Š 2011

Help a fellow mammal

A volunteer introduction meeting is Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Morro Bay Community Center, 101 Kennedy Way. For more information, call 771-8302 or e-mail slo@tmmc.org.