This weekend at Moss Beach in Northern California, 4
rehabilitated baby harbor seals and 2 young sea lions made their way back into
the ocean, after being nursed back to health by the Marine Mammal Center.
The cage doors
opened and the sea lion pups made a direct line for the waves. Poof, they were
gone! The baby harbor seals, on the
other hand, were far more timid. “Where are we?” they seemed to wonder. “What do we do now?” The bewildered look on their faces upon
re-entering the ocean was priceless. They continued to swim, play, and dive
around Moss Beach for hours. Luckily, there is an established harbor seal
colony nearby that will teach these wide-eyed creatures the ropes.
The four seal beauties had satellite tags on their heads, which
explained their funny-looking hats. Scientists will be able to track where the
harbor seals travel for one year and make sure that they are ok.
I highly recommend a visit to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve near Half Moon Bay at low tide for some spectacular
tide pooling.
Based on the vibrant health of this outgoing class, the Marine Mammal Center
clearly does a wonderful job rehabilitating lost and injured seals, sea lions,
and an occasional dolphin. The staff
feeds the rescued animals in a special way that does not domesticate them,
thereby enabling them to rejoin wild ocean life. Based in the Marin Headlands in Sausalito with a new center, the organization
has rescued and treated over 12,000 animals since 1975 and reached over 100,000
school children with their marine science education programs. I hope you will get to experience the magic of seeing a newly-healthy baby harbor
seal swim away home to the sea.
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