News Detail

Along the coast of California, over 2,700 California sea lions pups have been found stranded since the beginning of January 2015.  This number is 20 times the average, which means the stranding and rescue centers who care for sick and malnourished wildlife, are being bombarded with an overwhelming number of animals.  Oceans of Fun was honored to be able to send one of our own staff members out to California to assist with caring for these needy pups.  Read more to learn about Emme’s experience.

“My life has always been filled with a passion for marine mammals, and for the past several years, I have had the great pleasure of working alongside a dynamic group of animals and sharing my passion with others. The animals under my care act as ambassadors to their wild counterparts; it is important to understand the challenges that these animals are facing out in the wild. As a leader in the marine mammal community, Oceans of Fun gave me the once in a lifetime opportunity to experience these challenges first hand as well as play a vital role in the preservation of marine animals by volunteering at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, CA this past Spring. Since 2013, we have seen increased numbers of sea lion pup strandings along the coasts of central and southern California. Such a dramatic increase of strandings led to the declaration of an Unusual Mortality Event (UME). A UME has since been declared in 2014 and now again in 2015, with this year producing the highest number of strandings to date.

At any one time, the Marine Mammal Care Center had approximately 140 animals in their care. Each day I was there, 3-5 new animals would arrive, most often malnourished and dehydrated. The overall health of each animal was assessed and appropriate placement in the center was determined.  From there began the road to recovery and release – medication, tube feeding, success with eating fish, competing, and gaining strength and coordination – all necessary before an animal could be released back out into the wild. While it hurt my heart to see so many sea lion pups that were not much more than skin and bones, I was also surrounded by the success stories and by a large group of people that were devoting their lives to this cause. I therefore felt more hopeful than sad.

I learned a great deal of valuable information and skills while working at the center. I felt in my element and really absorbed myself in the work. At Oceans of Fun, if an animal is in need of assistance, we will stop at nothing to provide that animal with the best possible care. The time and energy we can devote to each of our animals is truly a gift. The reality I had to face at the stranding center, was that each animal could not be afforded this luxury due to too many animals and not enough resources. However, when it came time for me to leave the center, I looked at one of my supervisors and said, “I really hope that my fellow colleagues and I being here has been of assistance to all of you and to these animals.” She paused briefly, then responded, “Without all of you here, we would not even be able to feed these animals three times a day.” It was then that I knew I had been a part of something really important. It is my hope that through my experience, I can share my knowledge of the events occurring on the coast and more importantly, instill in others a desire to continue to share that knowledge and find a way to contribute to such a worthy and important cause.”

To learn more about the current UME and to make a donation, click here.