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Sick sea animals aided by Marine Mammal Center
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 14 - 06 - 2009


A recent surge in
weakened and malnourished sea lions found along the
Northern California coast is mystifying scientists and
keeping workers hopping at the newly expanded Marine Mammal
Center here, AP reported.
«We're way ahead in the numbers this year. We have twice
as many animals as we should,» marine veterinarian Bill
Van Bonn said after examining Charcoal, a sick harbor seal.
Experts at the non-profit center, located on wind-swept
Marin headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge,
believe the perplexing spike in malnourished sea lions
along several hundred miles (kilometers) of coast could be
due to a decline in populations of smaller fish that young
seals and sea lions eat while developing.
«It's likely a problem with the food web, something lower
in the food chain that is affected, but we are not sure
what it is yet,» said Van Bonn.
For 35 years, the seaside hospital has treated and studied
ailing elephant seals and other coastal mammals in bath
tubs and makeshift facilities. On Monday, as more and more
sick animals are needing attention, a new $32 million
building will be unveiled that expands the center's
capacity and technical ability at a crucial time.
On a recent afternoon, center staff decked out in rubber
boots and yellow slickers busily tended to about 130 marine
mammals lolling in the center's new pens, which are shaded
by solar panels and feature pools with freshly filtered
water.
The center treats an average of 600 marine mammals a year,
but last year more than 800 were rescued. In a recent week,
staff rescued 10 more sea lions a day than usual.
«It's concerning,» said Jeff Boehm, the center's
executive director.
The only bright side, Boehm said, is that the center is
now better equipped to help solve the riddle.
They have «a state of the art lab, a state of the art
suite for performing science and doing that pathological
work which helps us understand diseases,» Boehm said. The
center also has surgeons to repair broken flippers or
remove cataracts.
Elephant seals, harbor seals and California sea lions make
up the bulk of the patients, but the center also is called
upon to help untangle whales caught in fishing nets, or to
perform necropsies on dead animals that wash ashore.
Only about 50 percent of the animals rescued make it out
alive, but all of them help in the center's scientific
mission: more than 14,000 genetic and tissue samples have
been stored.
The new building allows for more public access, which is
free. Visitors can view the animals in their pens, watch a
necropsy or attend classes.
The Marine Mammal Center has also sought to have a lighter
environmental footprint in its new home: ceiling tiles are
made of seaweed and structural beams are composed of
partially recycled materials. The solar panels used to
shade the pens also provide about 10 percent of the
electricity consumed.
These days, as the ocean's acidity rises due to climate
change, much of the center's work will be focused on
studying how this changing sea chemistry is affecting the
mammals that live within its 600-mile
(965-kilometer)-reach. Only about eight percent of the
center's patients are injured by hazards like fishing nets,
tackle or boats.
On a recent sunny afternoon a group of the malnourished
California sea lions barked as two volunteers held one of
them down so a feeding tube could be inserted.
The staff force-fed the sea lion, known as Robin, with a
yellowish mash of herring, water and salmon oil, hoping to
bolster Robin's strength so she can eventually return to
the sea.


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