The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC) is a private, non-profit U.S. organization that was established in 1975 for the purpose of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing marine mammals who are injured, ill or abandoned. It was founded in Sausalito, California, by Lloyd Smalley, Pat Arrigoni and Paul Maxwell. Since 1975, TMMC has rescued over 24,000 marine mammals. It also serves as a center for environmental research and education regarding marine mammals, namely cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals, fur seals, walruses and sea lions), otters and sirenians (manatees and dugongs). Marine mammal abandonment refers to maternal separation; pups that have been separated from their mother before weaning. At the center, they receive specialized veterinary care: they are diagnosed, treated, rehabilitated and ideally, released back into the wild. Animals in need of assistance are usually identified by a member of the public who has contacted the center. These animals represent the following major species: California sea lions, northern elephant seals, Pacific harbor seals, northern fur seals, Guadalupe fur seals, Hawaiian monk seals, and southern sea otters. On a few occasions, TMMC has taken in Steller sea lions and bottlenose/Pacific white-sided dolphins. The only non-mammals that TMMC takes in are sea turtles.[1]
Release of rehabilitated pinnipeds into the Pacific Ocean
Research
The research team consists of veterinarians and biologists who conduct not only medical diagnosis and intervention, but also publish scientific reports on marine animal health in relation to the Pacific Ocean’s environmental chemistry. They collaborate with other institutions to provide vital information on disease, immunological systems and environmental effects. Some patients are fitted with radio or satellite tags before release, to further specific research goals. The center collaborates with counterparts around the world (most notably from England, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Scotland, the Netherlands, France and Germany) in working on complex cases, and also researches the interactions of ocean-dwelling mammals with the marine environment in collaboration with other institutions.
Researchers at TMMC have discovered that domoic acid (DA) is the causative agent responsible for illness in a great many California sea lions. DA is naturally produced by the diatomPseudo-nitzschia. DA passes up the food chain as the diatoms are consumed by zooplankton. These zooplankton are then consumed by fish, where the toxin accumulates. Fish are unharmed by it, but mammals are. California sea lions are disproportionately affected because they feed closer to shore, where more of these diatoms are present. When consumed by marine mammals, DA activates neural pathways in the brain, specifically, the hippocampus. This neural activation is unregulated and results in seizures. Repeated exposure will cause repeated activation, ultimately burning out these neural pathways and causing permanent brain damage — specifically, atrophy of the hippocampus. Domoic acid is the same biotoxin that causes amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans.
Another discovery by TMMC, in collaboration with the University of Florida, is that seal pox is distinct from pox viruses isolated from other species. It is unrelated to chicken pox or smallpox. Also being investigated is the increased incidence of leptospirosis, a bacterial pathogen that can acutely damage the kidneys of marine mammals.
The Marine Mammal Center has made advances in the use of general anesthesia on marine mammals, used during surgical procedures. To a certain extent, marine mammals are voluntary breathers. Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions and fur seals) can reduce their respiratory rate in order to conserve oxygen and remain underwater for extended periods. This makes the use of general anesthesia and tranquilizing darts more problematic.
Any animal that dies in treatment, or is euthanized while at the center, will undergo a necropsy to further research. At the center, there is a viewing area where the public can observe the procedure. Animals are only euthanized if their illness or injury is beyond treatment and would lead to the animal's death, or unabated suffering. Considering that animals in need are only identified when their distress is significant enough to be observable by the public, it is not unusual for some of these animals to be beyond rehabilitation.
Education
The education outreach program reaches in excess of 100,000 school children and adults each year, emphasizing the human connection to the marine environment. In addition to the groups of children who visit the center, there formerly was a program called 'Sea to School' that visits Bay Area Schools. The hope is that with a better understanding of the ocean and its inhabitants, communities will care for and respect the oceans.
Kiotari, a female Pacific harbor seal pup, was rescued on May 1, 2010, from Ross Cove at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in San Mateo. She had been separated from her mother shortly after birth. Kiotari was malnourished and suffering from flipper trauma and an umbilical infection. She was treated and released on July 24, 2010, at Point Reyes Marine Reserve, having gained over 10 kg. The spot patterns on a Pacific harbor seal are unique to a particular individual. Photo by Aaron J. Cohen for The Marine Mammal Center.
Rescue and rehabilitation
The ultimate goal is for every animal rescued by TMMC to be released back to the ocean with a second chance at life. Since 1975, the center has rescued over 24,000 marine mammals,[2] mostly California sea lions, northern elephant seals and Pacific harbor seals. The center can have upwards of 275 animals at the hospital at one time. In the spring time, the center rescues mostly young elephant seals and harbor seal pups that have been separated from their mothers due to either big storms or human interaction, or once weaned from their mother, were unable to find food on their own. In the summer time, the center rescues mostly California sea lions that are approximately 1 year old and have struggled to find food on their own, or adults suffering from different diseases, such as domoic acid toxicosis, leptospirosis or cancer. The center also rescues approximately 80–100 animals each year due to negative human interaction, such as entanglement in plastic or fishing gear, ingestion of trash, harassment on the beach and even gunshot wounds. At the center, volunteers and veterinarians provide round-the-clock care for the patients to help them recover, ranging from administering medication and food to patients, teaching young seals to catch and eat fish, and performing medical procedures like x-rays, surgeries and ultrasounds. The Marine Mammal Center is the good.
In almost all cases, the animals can be treated and returned to their ocean home. In rare cases, less than 1% of the time, animals that are rescued may be deemed unreleasable. If an animal has been released on two occasions and returns both times, it may have become habituated with people and is no longer capable of fending for itself. Some animals may have suffered injuries that have left them blind or otherwise disabled. Although their health is stable, they may no longer be able to survive independently in the wild. These too, are considered unreleasable. In these circumstances, TMMC works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to find a permanent home for the animal in an approved zoo or aquarium. In May, 2011, the San Francisco Zoo accepted two such animals. Both are male California sea lions, named Silent Knight and Henry. Silent Knight was shot and blinded in Sausalito in December 2010. The cause of Henry's blindness is unknown. There was no external injury to the eyes and the cause may be neurological.[3]
Facilities, budget and governance
Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands
Facilities include the Marin Headlands headquarters and field stations in San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Anchor Bay and Fort Bragg. The center's animal rescue radius is along the Pacific Coast of California and comprises approximately 600 square miles, between San Luis Obispo and Mendocino.[4]
The Marine Mammal Center facility is located at what was once part of a former Nike Missile site. From 1953 to 1979, the United States Army built and operated over 265 Nike missile batteries throughout the United States. The best preserved installation is in the Marin Headlands, known as SF88. It was intended to protect local civilian and military populations against attack by Soviet bomber aircraft. It was opened in 1954, equipped with Nike Ajax missiles and later converted to hold improved Nike Hercules missiles. The site was decommissioned in 1974. Portions of the site, including three Nike Hercules missiles, can be visited through the Golden Gate National Park Service on limited days and hours.
TMMC opened in 1975, one year after the closure of the missile site. Underground silos now house the facility's water filtration system. A small structure nearby was once a guard house. The exterior remains unchanged, but it is now part of the Harbor Seal Hospital and also holds a surgical suite. Neither the former silo, nor the former guard house are open to the public.[5]
The Marine Mammal Center is entirely privately funded. In 2012, the yearly operating budget for the center was approximately $7,500,000. 81% of expenditures went directly to animal care, veterinary expenses, and educational programs. In 2012, 76% of TMMC's operating budget came from private donations and individual and family memberships.[6] The center presently has a paid staff of 45 individuals. Its operation is reliant on several hundred volunteers who are trained in rescue, release, animal care and education.
The main facility in Sausalito can accommodate approximately 1,200 animals a year, although a typical year brings in between 600 and 800 patients. In 2009, a lack of available fish related to the El Nino weather pattern brought 1,750 patients to TMMC, more than in any other year since it opened. 2012 marked the year with the highest percentage of survivability for all patients to date. In the spring of 2013, environmental conditions limited to Southern California resulted in a higher than normal number of sea lion strandings. During this period, TMMC has taken in the overflow, approximately 65 patients.
Growth
The Marine Mammal Center began in 1975 with bath tubs and small pools surrounded by a fence. In June 2009, a multi-facility complex was opened to hold both the animals and the staff. It was built with recycled materials and utilizes sound boards made of sea weed. Donated solar panels provide approximately 20% of the facility's energy. Water, which was previously a major expense, is now filtered through an advanced sand bed and ozone system which allows a water recovery rate of 80%.
During the reconstruction, numerous outdoor pens with pools and haul-out surfaces were created. There are also special purpose facilities, including a veterinary hospital, records room, food preparation and storage rooms and rescue equipment storage area. The hospital includes an operating room, treatment areas, an office and pharmaceutical storage. Some of the hospital functions include thoracicsurgery, gastrointestinal surgery and orthopedic surgery, as well as routine examinations and blood sampling for patient diagnosis.
Notable actions
Some specific examples among the thousands of successful outcomes are:
Net entangled humpback whale. In December 2005, a large female humpback whale was rescued off of the Farallon Islands, after she became entangled in crab pot lines during her migration, most likely to wintering grounds near Mexico. The daring maneuver was carried out by center staff and volunteers, along with professional divers, and was the center's first successful open ocean rescue of a whale entangled in netting.
Orphaned Steller sea lion pup at Año Nuevo Island. In 1999, a malnourished 37lb. (17kg) pup was found stranded alone at a location known as a northern elephant seal rookery, but not as a birthing location for Steller sea lions. The pup, named Artemis, was restored to health and returned to the wild. In July 2005, she was again spotted on Año Nuevo Island, but this time she was giving birth to a new pup. This was a particularly unusual outcome, since no pup is known to have been born on that island for at least twenty years.
Humphrey the Whale is arguably the most widely publicized humpback whale in history,[7][8] having errantly entered San Francisco Bay twice, departing from his Mexico to Alaska migration. Each excursion resulted in dramatic estuarine rescues in 1985 and 1990 by the center, assisted by the United States Coast Guard and hundreds of volunteers. The first rescue was actually to turn Humphrey around in the Sacramento River, while the second was to move him back into the water from the mudflats north of Sierra Point below the Dakin Building.
Baker D., a bottlenose dolphin was successfully rehabilitated and released to join a dolphin pod in Monterey Bay in November 2004.[9]
Sergeant Nevis. On December 5, 2009, a 650lb. adult, male California sea lion was rescued from Knight's Landing in Yolo County, Northern California. Sgt. Nevis had suffered a shotgun wound to his sinuses. He was named after Yolo County police officer Michael Nevis, who assisted with his rescue. Imaging tests revealed that this had not been Sgt. Nevis' first run-in with a shotgun. Buckshot pellets .in his head evidenced that he had been shot several times previously. After months of treatment and rehabilitation, it was determined that he could not survive if returned to the ocean. In association with NOAA, he was transferred to permanent residence at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.
The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and later amendments, make it a federal crime to hunt, kill, capture and/or harass any marine mammal. State laws and local ordinances may provide additional restrictions and penalties.[10]
On October 8, 2010, Sgt. Nevis had major reconstructive surgery to close the opening in his face created by the entry and exit of the shotgun slug. The complicated surgery was needed to cover the crater-like wound under his eyes. The injury had forced Sgt. Nevis to modify his breathing. He was unable to dive or even submerge his head under water. There was also a continuing risk of infection. Facial reconstruction surgeon Dr. Praful Ramenini donated his services for this delicate surgery. Ramenini was supported by center veterinarians Dr. Bill Van Bonn and Dr. Vanessa Fravel, as well as veterinarians Dr. Diana Procter and Dr. Nancy Anderson from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
On October 15, 2010, the Sutter County District Attorney's Office announced the successful criminal prosecution of a fisherman for the shooting of Sgt. Nevis. He was convicted of intentionally maiming or wounding a living animal, in violation of California Penal Code Section 597.[11] He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $51,081.48 to TMMC, toward the expenses of treating Sgt. Nevis.[12]
Movie Trivia. In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, elephant seal and sea lion vocalizations were recorded at TMMC and used as the main component for the sound of the Orcs (northern elephant seals) and the Uruks (California sea lions). Sound Designer David Farmer had, coincidentally, visited the center during elephant seal pupping season and was suitably impressed.[13][14]
The California sea lion is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of California. California sea lions are sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females, and have a thicker neck, and a protruding sagittal crest. They mainly haul-out on sandy or rocky beaches, but they also frequent manmade environments such as marinas and wharves. California sea lions feed on a number of species of fish and squid, and are preyed on by orcas and great white sharks.
Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine (saltwater) ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine environments for feeding and survival.
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. The sea lions have six extant and one extinct species in five genera. Their range extends from the subarctic to tropical waters of the global ocean in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with the notable exception of the northern Atlantic Ocean. They have an average lifespan of 20–30 years. A male California sea lion weighs on average about 300 kg (660 lb) and is about 2.4 m (8 ft) long, while the female sea lion weighs 100 kg (220 lb) and is 1.8 m (6 ft) long. The largest sea lions are Steller's sea lions, which can weigh 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) and grow to a length of 3.0 m (10 ft). Sea lions consume large quantities of food at a time and are known to eat about 5–8% of their body weight at a single feeding. Sea lions can move around 16 knots in water and at their fastest they can reach a speed of about 30 knots. Three species, the Australian sea lion, the Galápagos sea lion and the New Zealand sea lion, are listed as endangered.
Pinnipeds, commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semi-aquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae, Otariidae, and Phocidae, with 34 extant species and more than 50 extinct species described from fossils. While seals were historically thought to have descended from two ancestral lines, molecular evidence supports them as a monophyletic lineage. Pinnipeds belong to the clade Caniformia of the order Carnivora; their closest living relatives are musteloids, having diverged about 50 million years ago.
The Steller sea lion is a large, near-threatened species of sea lion, predominantly found in the coastal marine habitats of the northeast Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Northwest regions of North America, from north-central California to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to Alaska. Its range continues across the Northern Pacific and the Aleutian Islands, all the way to Kamchatka, Magadan Oblast, and the Sea of Okhotsk, south to Honshu’s northern coastline. It is the sole member of the genus Eumetopias, and the largest of the so-called eared seals (Otariidae). Among pinnipeds, only the walrus and the two species of elephant seal are bigger. The species is named for the naturalist and explorer Georg Wilhelm Steller, who first described them in 1741. Steller’s sea lions have attracted considerable attention in recent decades, both from scientists and the general public, due to significant declines in their numbers over an extensive portion of their northern range—notably in Alaska.
The northern elephant seal is one of two species of elephant seal. It is a member of the family Phocidae. Elephant seals derive their name from their great size and from the male's large proboscis, which is used in making extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating competition. Sexual dimorphism in size is great. Correspondingly, the mating system is highly polygynous; a successful male is able to impregnate up to 50 females in one season.
Elephant seals or sea elephants are very large, oceangoing earless seals in the genus Mirounga. Both species, the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal, were hunted to the brink of extinction for oil by the end of the 19th century, but their numbers have since recovered. They are the largest extant carnivorans, weighing up to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb). Despite their name, elephant seals are not closely related to elephants, and the large proboscis or trunk that males have was convergently evolved.
The northern fur seal is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. It is the largest member of the fur seal subfamily (Arctocephalinae) and the only living species in the genus Callorhinus. A single fossil species, Callorhinus gilmorei, is known from the Pliocene of Japan and western North America.
The Guadalupe fur seal is one of eight members of the fur seal genus Arctocephalus. They are the northernmost member of this genus. Sealers reduced the population to just a few dozen by the late 19th century, but the species had recovered to 10,000 in number by the late 1990s. Many individuals can be found on Mexico's Guadalupe Island.
The Vancouver Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, ocean literacy education, climate activism, conservation and marine animal rehabilitation.
The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African and southern rockhopper penguins, giant Pacific octopuses, weedy seadragons, and thousands of saltwater and freshwater fishes. In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at Central Wharf include the Simons Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch. More than 1.3 million guests visited the aquarium each year prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Alaska SeaLife Center, Alaska's premier public aquarium and Alaska's only permanent marine mammal rehabilitation facility, is located on the shores of Resurrection Bay in Seward in the U.S. state of Alaska. Open since May 1998, it is dedicated to understanding and maintaining the integrity of the marine ecosystem of Alaska through research, rehabilitation, conservation, and public education. It is the only facility in the world specifically dedicated to studying the northern marine environment and the only one designed at the outset to combine research with public education and visitor components. The Alaska SeaLife Center generates and shares scientific knowledge to promote understanding and stewardship of Alaska's marine ecosystems.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world. The organization works to rescue individual animals, safeguard populations, preserve habitat, and advocate for greater protections. Brian Davies founded IFAW. IFAW was instrumental in ending the commercial seal hunt in Canada. In 1983 Europe banned all whitecoat harp seals products. This ban helped save over 1 million seals. IFAW operates in over 40 countries.
Mystic Aquarium is a marine aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. It is one of only two U.S. facilities holding Steller sea lions, and it has the only beluga whales in New England. Special exhibits include the largest outdoor beluga whale habitat in the United States, a ray and shark touch pool, an African penguin exhibit, a jelly gallery, and the new Dino Seas: An Immersive Journey exhibit. The aquarium is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA) and is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). It is a subsidiary of the Sea Research Foundation, Inc.
The Northcoast Marine Mammal Center (NMMC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of stranded, sick or injured seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, and whales along the northernmost coast of California. The Northcoast Marine Mammal Center is funded by donations and grants and has a large volunteer force which allows it to accomplish its mission. The Northcoast Marine Mammal Center is located in Crescent City, California and has operations that cover over 200 miles of rugged coastline.
Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) began in 2000 as one of many projects formed by Census of Marine Life, an organization whose goal is to help understand and explain the diversity and abundances of the ocean in the past, present, and future. After they were formed, TOPP began by building a coalition of researchers from all over the world to find and study predators of the Pacific Ocean. Since then, they have satellite-tagged 22 different species and more than 2,000 animals. These animals include elephant seals, great white sharks, leatherback turtles, squid, albatrosses, and more.
The harborseal, also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped, they are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Baltic and North seas.
The fauna of the State of California may be the most diverse in the United States of America. Of the Lower 48 conterminous states, California has the greatest diversity in climate, terrain and geology in general. The state's six life zones are the lower Sonoran (desert); upper Sonoran ; transition ; and the Canadian, Hudsonian, and Arctic zones, comprising California's highest elevations. California’s diverse geography gives rise to dozens of different ecosystems, each of which has its own unique native plants and animals. California is a huge state, the 3rd largest in the U.S., and can range broadly in habitat type.
Randall William Davis is an educator and researcher who studies the physiology and behavioral ecology of marine mammals and other aquatic vertebrates. His physiological research focuses on adaptations of marine mammals for deep, prolonged diving. Davis has continually emphasized the importance of studying aquatic animals in their natural environment and has spent many years developing animal-borne instruments that record video and monitor three-dimensional movements, swimming performance and environmental variables to better understand their behavior and ecology. His academic endeavors and 94 research expeditions have taken him to 64 countries and territories on seven continents and all of the world's oceans.
Claire Simeone is a veterinarian, advocate for ocean health, and founder at Sea Change Health. She is a 2018 TED Fellow, the first ever veterinarian to be selected.
↑ "About Us: Marine Mammal Center". Marine Mammal Center. Retrieved 1 December 2012.If you find a marine mammal or sea turtle in distress within this area, please notify the Marine Mammal Center, at (415) 289-7325 (from Mendocino to San Mateo), (831) 633-6298 (Monterey and Santa Cruz), or (805) 771-8300 (San Luis Obispo). Calls are answered 24 hours a day. Do not touch, or approach the animal. It is illegal to harass a marine mammal. Any contact may result in injury to yourself or further injury or stress to the animal.
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