Dawn’s ‘Day in the Wildlife’ at The Marine Mammal Center

This is the first post in a four part series in partnership with Dawn dishwashing liquid.  This series is aimed at bringing awareness to the wildlife rescue rehabilitation centers that Dawn supports and  honoring the many amazing volunteers that contribute to this cause.  As always, opinions are 100% my own.

I know that I don’t often post a lot of personal stories on the blog, but today I have a story for you that I can’t wait to tell.

It is a story of an amazing place…

…with the most passionate and dedicated group of volunteers that I have ever met.

And at the heart of the story is a bunch of these beautiful creatures….

…that have united a community together and inspired thousands of people to take a more active role in caring for the world around them.

My story begins a couple of weeks ago, when I was invited by Dawn down to Sausalito, California to experience “A Day in the Wildlife” at one of the wildlife rescue centers that they support – The Marine Mammal Center.  This nonprofit veterinary hospital and research center is devoted to rescuing and rehabilitating sick, injured or orphaned marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and dolphins.  It is the largest of its kind in the world and is one of the most inspiring places that I have ever visited.

One of the most amazing things about this organization is that it is almost entirely run by volunteers – almost 1100 of them!  These volunteers spend countless hours caring for any sick or injured animals in their care as well as participating in many other “less glorious” tasks such as preparing fish, washing down the crates, and scrubbing the pens.  Shifts can run upwards of 12 hours and 24 hour care needs to be provided to meet the needs of the up to 120 animals that can live there.  I heard endless stories from the volunteers about how much they loved their work, the animals, and their volunteer “family”,  and the passion that they exuded was contagious.  I was lucky enough to be able to spend some extra time with one of the volunteers, Carolyne, and will be sharing more of her story in the next post.

To get a better feel for what the volunteers would go through on a typical shift, we were given a rare, behind the scenes opportunity to experience a tiny little bit of what the volunteers do.  And one of those less than glorious tasks?  Sorting through fish.

Yep.  We got to sort through a 25 lb. box of frozen fish for our little sea lion friends to make sure that both eyes were intact and that there were no areas of breakdown on their bodies.  Even after one box my fingers were frozen, but this is what some of the volunteers would be doing for their entire shift!

After prepping the fish {and cleaning up the kitchen using Dawn dish soap of course!}, I had a chance to shadow my volunteer, Carolyne, as she went about some of her daily tasks.  Again, I have lots to tell you about my pen scrubbing experiences and time with Carolyne {as well as a little video interview that I did!} but I will save that for my next post.  For now, I would like to get to the heart of the center and my favorite part of the tour…

When I visited TMMC, they had 11 beautiful sea lions in their care.  This was a huge change from a couple of months before when they were overflowing with more than 120 sea lions, harbour seals, and elephant seals.  While it would have been nice for me to see more animals, I was happy to hear that most of them had been able to return to their true home in the wild- the ultimate goal of TMMC.

 
Animals can be brought to The Marine Mammal Center for many reasons including malnourishment, abandonment, or  demoic acid poisoning {caused from toxic algae blooms in their environment}.  At the facility, they are treated with the top of the line medical care and given haven to hopefully recover from their sickness or injuries.   Many of the young pups start out on tube feeds and need to be taught how to feed and hunt before being able to return to the wild.  This poor little guy had escaped a shark attack and was here recovering from his wounds.

Sadly, about 10% of the animals that are treated TMMC are there as a result of negative human interactions or hazards.  The animals can get tangled in fishing nets or lines, mistakenly ingest garbage that is floating around in the ocean, or get injured in a boat strike.  And this is where you all come in…

Teach your children about the beauty of nature.  Educate them that by coming together and changing our individual actions, we truly can have an impact – an impact on our surroundings, our oceans, our future.   Help them to understand that the little creek in your backyard, turns into a river that will eventually lead to the sea – that they are connected to everything around them.  Let them know that what goes down that man hole in the city does not magically disappear – it too will eventually be returned to our oceans, back to the place where these sea lions call home.  Show them that picking up one piece of garbage can make a difference.

My little sea lion friends would really appreciate it! 🙂

Now the story does not end here.  At the end of our day we were able to witness a beautiful sight – the release of three healthy sea lions back to their home.  I feel that this deserves a whole post to itself as it was one of the most amazing experiences that I have had and the pure joy that the sea lions displayed will be remembered forever.  I hope you will continue to follow our story…

If you would like to learn more about The Marine Mammal Center, be sure to check out their website or follow their stories on Facebook.  For those of you that are lucky enough to live in {or will be visiting!} the Sausilito area,  head on over to their facility for a visit.  It is a wonderful and eductional experience that the whole family will enjoy!

Many thanks to Susan Goldman Photography for capturing so many wonderful memories of the day!