Founded in 1975, the Marine Mammal Center works to rescue and rehabilitate ill and injured marine mammals, primarily elephant seals, harbor seals and California sea lions. Headquartered in Sausalito, California, with field offices in San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Mendocino counties, the nonprofit veterinary research hospital and education center helps approximately 800 animals annually that are stranded along 600 miles of California coastline. Forty-five staff and more than 1,000 volunteers help by assessing stranded animals, providing triage and emergency care and transporting animals to the hospital in Sausalito. Malnourishment, maternal separation, entanglements, diseases and human interactions are some of the mammal threats that the center addresses.
The center also conducts research into marine mammal conditions. Studies focus on domoic acid poisoning in sea lions, bacterial infections and cancer, which is found in approximately 17 percent of adult sea lions that undergo post mortem at the hospital. Marine science and environmental education programs reach tens of thousands of adults and students each year and include tours, school outreach, a speaker’s bureau and a youth program to inspire ocean conservation and environmental stewardship. Over 100,000 people visit the center each year. The marine mammal hospital is one of the largest in the world with the capacity to combine rehabilitation with onsite research for more than 200 animals at one time.
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