After three and a half years of construction, The Marine Mammal Center celebrated the grand opening of its new facility and had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday. There has been a flurry of work at the Center this past week as workmen installed many informative placards and displays all around the facility. It was weird going there and seeing signs pointing to the bathrooms and the various departments.

Why is that weird? Because once the signs are up the public will come. I started working at the Center just after construction started, when their doors were already closed to the public, so I don't know what it's like to work "on display," so to speak. Now people are going to be able to watch us do most of our daily jobs, and they'll even be able to see into our lunch room. I fear the novelty will wear off quickly.

The ribbon-cutting and grand opening was a success, however, and it made me feel proud about my involvement with TMMC. As of the 15th of this month (when our doors open to the public), however, I will be working in a different place than I did before. Let's see how it goes.

Soometimes I wonder if I put too much emphasis on my work with The Marine Mammal Center. After all, I'm just a volunteer there; it's not like it's my job. But then again, it *is* a job--it just so happens that I'm not getting paid for it. But I certainly am more passionate about helping animals and saving lives than I ever was about, say, helping some cable tv host recover his lost email. (I still can't believe I got paid so much for such a meaningless job.)

I guess what it boils down to is my work with TMMC has turned into my "career," and I suppose this is how other people feel when they land a job they really love. Neat!

We have a record number of California sea lion pups at The Marine Mammal Center, and a large percentage of them are not surviving. It is becoming common to lose two, three, five, or more animals in a day. When we know we cannot save them, we will humanely euthanize the animals to prevent additional suffering. I've lost track of the number of animals now that I've watch die.

This past Tuesday as we were working with a group of sea lion pups it became obvious that one of them was dying. We called a vet over who determined it was best to help the pup along, and he gave the animal a sedative. (The procedure for humane euthanasia begins with a sedative to calm and immobilize the animal so that the veterinarian can inject the euthanasia solution, usually pentobarbital, directly into the animal's vein.) Once the animal is sedated we take a blood sample, then administer the final injection. I wanted to practice my blood drawing technique so the vet called me over, and I did so. With my hand on the little sea lion's chest I could still feel his heart beating.

After successfully obtaining a blood sample the vet handed me the syringe of pink liquid. I wasn't expecting this; in this circumstance pink equals death. I attached the syringe to the needle still imbedded in the animal's subclavian vein and injected it. The little heart stopped beating, and I had just euthanized my first animal.

I have nothing against euthanasia. On the contrary, I believe it is one of the most humane things we can do for another creature. I also think it should not be taken lightly. Up until last Tuesday I've always been a bit detached from the procedure as I knew it would go on with or without me. Then suddenly *I* was the one euthanizing the animal. It was an odd feeling, a feeling of incredible responsibility, and it definitely made me give some thought to the concept of death. Living beings--humans, sea lions, whatever--can be so robust and withstand so much that it's hard to comprehend that mere teaspoons of a pink liquid can be all that stands between life and death.

Righteous Porkchop - Nicolette Hahn Niman - Righteous Porkchop is very similar to The Face on Your Plate, which I just finished reading, but it is also an entirely different book. The similarity lies in that R.P. really does tell you the truth about food; you learn about the major types of animal foods--milk, eggs, beef, pork, chicken, and fish--as well as specifics about how the animals are housed, fed, drugged, and treated. It goes in-depth on subjects such as how "old-fashioned" traditional farms actually improve the soil in their environment, and how "modern" industrialized factory farms pollute and destroy not only the land in their immediate vicinity, but also water sources many miles away.

The difference between these two books lies in how they are presented. Righteous Porkchop is extremely well-researched and written. Some eight years in the making, the author has done her homework. She has a similar mindset to the author of The Face on Your Plate (she does not eat meat nor tolerate animal suffering), but unlike him she never demands the general population stop consuming animal products, and in fact, counts combatative militant vegans as a liability against the crusade for animal welfare.

At 278 pages (plus an additional 32 pages of references and notes) R.P. packs a tremendous amount of information into a small size, including a chapter about "Answering Obstacles to Reform" which both addresses and dismisses the fallacies that "industrialized farming is necessary to feed the world," and "there is not enough land to support the amount of traditional farming needed to replace factory farming" (both statements are used by the factory farming industry as a way to drum up support for their industry). This book is highly recommended for everyone--omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans-- and especially for people who don't care much about where there food comes from. There's a lot to be learned.

The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food - Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson - Well, I suppose this book does live up to its title as it gives you the truth about what animals go through in order to be the food on your plate, but it doesn't do it well.
The author is a militant vegan and his writing is biased thusly. Don't get me wrong - I'm a vegetarian who tries to be as ethical as possible about my animal-based food choices, but after reading this I get the feeling that he won't let up until everyone else is vegan as well, which just isn't going to happen. He anthropomorphizes animals to the point of ascribing feelings to them, such as claiming a pig, whose tail has been cut off, will continue to feel phantom tail pain. How does he know? The pig didn't tell him, and there were no references proving such. His "data" is poor, in one chapter saying mice and humans share 97.5% of their DNA, and in another stating it is 90%. Masson also claims, "Vegans don't have to worry about high cholesterol," which is incorrect. Oh, and his writing is crap as well, with awkward paragraph structures that can, at times, be confusing. To be honest, I only read about half the book and just paged through the rest. Even though I agreed with the sentiment I couldn't take it anymore. Save your time and money for one of the better-written, less biased, more accurate books out there.

The Whale Warriors: The Battle at the Bottom of the World to Save the Planet's Largest Mammals - Peter Heller - Part lesson in species preservation, part adventure on the high seas, and part sad reality, The Whale Warriors is a real-life account of one of the world's most dedicated ocean conservationists. Paul Watson is the head of the Sea Shepherd organization, and each Antarctic summer he and an incredible team of volunteers take to the Southern Ocean in an attempt to stop (at least some of) the whaling that still happens there. In defiance of international anti-whaling treaties the Japanese kill about 1000 whales every season, including significant numbers of endangered species, and Watson is one of the few people on Earth who has the cajones to confront the whaling fleet. I couldn't put this book down. Highly recommended.

Recently I mentioned that I have been on Livejournal since early 2002 (and had journal entries up on my own website for two years prior). I started poking through some old entries and came across a list of things going on in my life in years prior. I thought it was neat to see how things had changed, so I'm re-doing the list from today's perspective. (The original list was written in 2002.)

About 10 years ago I...

1. Was about to embark on my third trip to Europe.
   
2. Would officially retire after many years as a club DJ upon return from that trip.
   
3. Had just started working as an IT Project Manager for Macworld.
   
4. Had been living in my apartment, by myself, for about three years and loved it.
   
5. Was on the cusp of major personal growth, but didn't yet realize it.
   

About 5 years ago I...

1. Was back in school full time and had just completed my hardest, yet most enjoyable, semester to date.
   
2. Still planned on majoring in Nursing.
   
3. Was living with my boyfriend, and in the best relationship I had ever had in my life.
   
4. Knew The Marine Mammal Center existed, but didn't really know anything about them.
   
5. Had done only eight scuba dives in the previous 12 months.
   

About 2 years ago I...

1. Was still in school with the intention of graduating, but had changed my major to Biology/Zoology.
   
2. Had recently celebrated my first wedding anniversary with the most wonderful man in the world.
   
3. Had been working at The Marine Mammal Center for over a year.
   
4. Had done 37 scuba dives in the previous 12 months.
   
5. Had officially declared myself a vegetarian just a few months prior.
   

About 1 year ago I...

1. Had recently been promoted to Assistant Supervisor of one of The Marine Mammal Center's animal care crews.
   
2. Had just completed my most recent round of finals, was pretty burnt out on school, and although I didn't know it at the time, I would not be going back in the Fall.
   
3. Was in the middle of a major home remodeling project and did not have a kitchen to speak of.
   
4. Wanted to be more active in the conservation movement, but didn't know how to go about it.
   
5. Was so focused on school that I wasn't putting a lot of thought into other endeavors.
   

Today I...

1. Haven't been scuba diving for nearly a year.
   
2. Recently marked the one-month point since our beloved kitty passed away (we couldn't bear to go away while she was sick, hence the no diving thing).
   
3. Have two upcoming dive trips scheduled, and are planning a third.
   
4. Am a member of a team of people working to promote conservation in and through The Marine Mammal Center.
   
5. Am developing an interest in gardening.
   

I like Livejournal. I've been on here since February 2002, and have enjoyed it immensely. What I really like about LJ is that it has given me the opportunity to get to meet new people, and get to know my existing friends better.

LJ gives me the chance to glimpse into the minds of others, find out what they're really thinking and doing, what they're really passionate about. Sure, I have to sometimes wade through (what I consider to be) nonsense posts, but I'll gladly shift through those to find the great entry describing what a friend has been going through lately.

There was a shift here a few years ago towards using LJ as an RSS feed, and I admit I do use it for that as well. (Hey, it works, and I'm already visiting this site at least once a day, so why not?) And sadly it does seem like the number of original posts here have dropped significantly during the past 6-12 months, but I suppose I'm to blame for that as well through a combination of busyness and lack of ideas about which to post. But I'm here to stay, and I hope you are too.

Take a minute and post something to Livejournal to let me know you're still alive. Something fun, personal, and/or insightful, it'll brighten the day of everyone who reads it.

Lately I have been getting into gardening. I've always loved beautiful gardens, especially the wild- and overgrown-looking gardens, but never thought I'd be interested in working on one myself. Then about a month ago I realized we had a blank canvas of a yard that seemed to be calling to me, so now I'm giving it a shot.

Our yard is split in two, the upper and lower halves, by a small retaining wall and a couple steps. The lower half has some bamboo, a few small trees, and a lot of river rocks on the ground. The upper half has an ornamental plum tree, a datura tree, and a whole lot of empty ground. So last month Frederick and I put in a stone walkway from the deck to the lower half of the yard, nicely bisecting the upper half. I've since planted one side of the upper half, and am starting to plan out the other half.

The portion I've planted is done with all drought-tolerant native California plants. I'm trying to stick with purples and yellows for the flowing plants, if for no other reason than they seem to be popular colors (in the flower world). The other side of the walkway will be a mix of some native plants and some raised beds for vegetables. For the last few years I've really liked the idea of growing my own food, and very soon now I'll be able to try.

Of course, right now I'm in the fun part of gardening - the planning and planting and watching everything take root. Soon will come the time when I have to get in there and start with the pruning and weeding and other non-glamourous tasks. Right now I'm just waiting for the weather to clear so I can get out in the backyard again!

Hmm, it's been too long since I last posted here. I guess that's because I either haven't had much to say, or when I think of something to say then I haven't had time to sit down and write about it. I have been pretty vocal on Facebook, but that's only because it's easier to find twenty seconds to type a blurb than it is twenty minutes to type a page of stuff.

I've found my schedule has gotten very full lately. It's our busy season at The Marine Mammal Center so I'm working 11.5-12 hour days on Tuesdays. Which means I go to bed early on Monday nights, and often on Tuesdays as well. I was recently elected to the Volunteer Council so I attend one meeting a month in that capacity, and I joined the Center's new "Green Team" to help increase sustainability and conservation in all aspects of what we do there. And just in case that's not enough, we're gearing up for our public grand opening on June 15th (after which date you'll be able to come see us in all our slicker-clad glory).

My work at the Academy of Sciences continues and I still find it fascinating. I hesitate to use the word "like" because it's weird to say I like disassembling dead animals, but it is very interesting. I do feel that only by becoming familiar with death and the intricacies of the body (human or otherwise) can one really appreciate life and the fact that these bodies actually *work*.

We have a group dive trip planned for July, and again will be travelling with several friends. Frederick and I are both really looking forward to this as it will be our first dive trip in a year. (We've had some things going on this past year which prevented us from travelling.) Earlier today we thought about arranging an additional trip just for the two of us but then realized we won't have any time until the end of July or beginning of August! How did our lives get so busy?

Are you looking for a cool volunteer opportunity? Do you like animals and educating people? Then please consider volunteering for The Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands.

TMMC is an incredible place. I've been volunteering for them for three years now and I cannot imagine leaving. This summer our brand-spanking-new $32M facility opens to the public, and needless to say we are all excited about this!

Please volunteer and become part of the largest marine mammal rehabilitation center in the world!

Oh, lest I forget, I have an update about myself - I have a new job! Well, a new volunteer job as it seems you can't get paid for doing the interesting stuff :)

I have started working at the California Academy of Sciences. I'm not diving there yet - that is still on hold because the man who trains the volunteer divers has just been too busy to get that program off the ground - but I am helping to prepare skulls for their collection. I am working primarily with marine mammals, an interestingly, many of the specimens come from the Marine Mammal Center.

It is smelly work. Not because of the specimens themselves, as they are kept frozen until we begin work on them, but because we are working in a room which also holds specimens which are being macerated. Maceration is a method of leaving a bone in a container of water long enough that bacteria eat away every molecule of flesh and fat. In other words, they're rotting.

But it is also very interesting work. I'm hoping that at some point I will be able to identify individual marine mammal species by just looking at their skulls!

After last week's post about "Tillie" the sea lion, I wanted to give an update on his condition. Last Tuesday Tillie was two days post-surgery. He was lethargic, extremely weak, and not eating on his own (because of the fishing net wrapped around his head and mouth it had probably been weeks since he had eaten, or even swallowed anything). When we restrained him for tube feeding, he laid flat on the ground without resisting, and his eyes rolled back in his head. We didn't think he would survive the tubing, let alone the day.

I went to work this past Tuesday the 24th half-expecting to see Tillie's pen empty. However, I was very pleasantly surprised to see him alert and active! As soon as I threw "breakfast" in his pool he jumped in and swam around, quickly gobbling down all of his fish. His improvement is remarkable, and barring any persistent infection, I think he will be ready for release in a few weeks.


Unfortunately, Tillie will always carry with him the scars and disfiguration caused by the fishing net.

If you've ever paid attention to any of the information relating to sustainable seafood then you've probably heard the word "bycatch." It refers to the unwanted or unintentional species caught, and often killed, in the course of collecting your target species. One example would be if you're fishing for trout and you catch a bass, then the bass would be bycatch. It's not ideal, but it doesn't sound that bad, right? Wait. Let me give you some more information before you answer that question.

Worldwide, a full 25% of animals caught in fishing gear are discarded annually. That's thirty million metric tons or over 33,000,000 US tons (sixty-six billion pounds) of waste. Some of these animals are thrown back while still alive and are able to survive, but the majority do not. Bycatch includes everything from undesirable fish to sharks, turtles, birds, whales and dolphins. Yes, despite the "dolphin-safe tuna" industry over 300,000 cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are caught in fishing gear every year.

Seals and sea lions are not immune from this, and entangled animals are something we deal with on a regular basis at The Marine Mammal Center. Currently we have on-site a male California sea lion dubbed "Tillie." Tillie was rescued from Muir Beach in Marin County on Sunday, brought back to TMMC, and immediately went into surgery to remove the monofilament fishing net wrapped around his head and mouth. The net had been there long enough to dig through tissue and into his bone. It is unknown how long he went without eating due to either pain, or the fact that it was physically impossible for him to eat with the netting in his mouth.


Tillie's prognosis is guarded as the netting may have caused a bone infection (osteomyelitis), and we don't yet know if that infection can be stopped in time. I certainly hope so.

Seeing animals like this is what caused me to stop eating all fish and seafood. I have no desire to support an industry that causes so much unnecessary death and suffering. If you would like to learn more or do something to lessen your impact, here are some links:

Bycatch information:
Info on bycatch from The Monterey Bay Aquarium
Info on bycatch from The World Wildlife Fund
The Wikipedia page on bycatch

Sustainable seafood (avoid bycatch and still eat fish):
About Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program
Pocket guides to help make the best fish, seafood, and sushi choices

Make a difference:
Monterey Bay Aquarium "Consumers Make a Difference!"
World Wildlife Fund "Everyone can help stop bycatch"

Did you always know what you wanted to do for a living? Or, to reword that, is the job you are working at today the sort of thing you thought you'd do when you were growing up? If the answer to either of those questions is "no," do you think that's because your teachers and advisors never pushed you in the correct direction?

This is something I've been giving some thought to lately. I've loved animals as far back as I can remember, and ever since I was a child I wanted a job working with them. I never knew exactly what though, and at no time in my life was I encouraged to pursue my dreams. So as I got older and reality began settling more heavily on my shoulders, my dreams faded away.

I have a memory from when I was in 6th or 7th grade. Most of our classes were taught by one teacher, but we had separate teachers for P.E., Spanish, and Science. One day I was in the Science classroom chatting with the teacher, and I remember having to tell him what an ungulate was. (This was also during the time period where I read all the first aid books in the classroom, and probably where my interest in Medicine came about.) You'd think that in an instance like that, any science teacher worth his weight in bunsen burners would have attempted to cultivate the student's interest in biology, but this teacher did nothing. Maybe if he had taken some time to tell me about all the different jobs my biology interest could have led me to, well, maybe I would have spent the last 20 years doing something I really loved. If I had known that "going to college" could also mean "spending time learning about something I loved" then maybe I would have gone. I could have been a vet. I could have been many things. But instead I wasted many years of my life.

Sure, it wasn't entirely his fault. But at no time during my childhood did I ever have anything close to a mentor, and that's what I really needed.

I'm very lucky in that things turned out fine for me. And there is no way I'd give up my life today for the uncertainty of a different adolescence. But still I wonder at how things might have been different if someone paid attention. And I wonder if the reason no one paid attention is because I was a girl, and girls are supposed to grow up and have babies, not be scientists.

After a month and a half hiatus I started back at the Marine Mammal Center yesterday. Mid-December through February is our slow season, and we only had seven animals on-site, so my supervisor and I were the only ones to come in. It felt good to be back there.

We had a surprise that morning when we went into Del Norte's pen to feed her - there was a (dead) fetus on the floor of her pen. (Link to photo; I'm not posting it here because some people may not want to see it.) Del Norte is an adult female California sea lion who was admitted because of suspected acute domoic acid toxicity. On February 6th she was anesthetized and examined. An ultrasound confirmed she was pregnant, so the vets gave her an injection of prostaglandin to induce abortion. Sometime during the morning of the 10th she aborted her fetus.

In a pregnant animal, domoic acid tends to accumulate in the fetus. After inducing abortion the mother immediately begins to feel better as her body has just eliminated a huge toxin load. And it is the best course of treatment for the baby as well; since the fetus has accumulated a large amount of domoic acid it has incurred brain damage as a result. Even if the fetus were able to make it to term, it would unable to survive on its own.

Rather than seeing this as an unpleasant event I found it extremely interesting. I had never had the chance to see a sea lion fetus before. Plus, I was able to see Del Norte hungry and frolicking in her pool. I'm guessing that, barring other problems, she'll be released in the near future. And that's what makes a good day at work - watching your patients leave and never come back :)


Del Norte in her pool
P.S. Huge thanks to Gnat who gave me the super-cool Playmobil figures in my new icon!

[I'm crossing the memes here...]

This is a cool meme. I'd like to read your random thoughts, too, so please post them!

1) I like most animals more than most people. If you're reading this, then you're probably in the minority of people I do like.

2) I love organization to the point of straightening up store displays while I'm waiting in line. But I'm not quite bad enough to be considered OCD.

3) I'm very shy, to the point of feeling uncomfortable at gatherings where I don't know many people. It is very difficult for me to go up to strangers and start talking to them, but if you start talking to me first, I'm okay with that.

4) Back when I was going clubbing all the time I wasn't so shy, but I blame that on alcohol.

5) I really love my husband, and consider myself so extremely lucky to have met him. He makes life worth living.

6) I cannot understand why "vegetarians" eat fish.

7) I cannot understand how anyone can eat things like organs, testicles, tongue, etc. Ew!

8) Ditto for mushrooms.

9) I like vegetables much more than fruit, and baked goods more than anything.

10) If I could change one thing about humanity, it would be to make people stop eating fish and seafood.

11) As far back as I can remember, I've always been very happy that one of my parents (my mom) came from another country.

12) It's probably somehow related to #11, but I've never identified with being "An American." I do, however, identify with being Californian, and particularly San Franciscan.

13) I've never lived further than 40 miles from where I was born.

14) I was born in what I consider to be the best city in the world (San Francisco) so I was never compelled to leave the Bay Area.

15) I really love my cat.

16) Over the years I've had many different pets: cat, dog, chicken, pig, parrots, lizards, snakes, frogs, rat, hamsters, canaries, etc. The only thing stopping me from having a menagerie nowadays is that I want to travel more, and that's very difficult to do when you have many pets.

17) I learned to ride a motorcycle by riding motocross. I still love dirt bike riding much, much more than street riding, but sadly have not ridden in the dirt for ages.

18) I do not like riding bicycles.

19) I am fascinated by anatomy, especially skeletal anatomy.

20) Because of #19, I collect bones. If you are creeped out by bones, you don't want to go into my office.

21) I have no problem with dead things, doing necropsies, dissections, etc., but the sight of an icky bug will make me scream like a little girl.

22) Girls (women, whatever) who are too "girlie" make no sense to me. I probably think this way because I was, and still am, a tomboy.

23) When I was a kid I wished I had been born a boy. I always had stereotypical male hobbies, and it seemed like the life of a boy was easier than that of a girl.

24) I skipped grade three and eventually dropped out of high school because I was so bored with it all. I was never challenged in school until college (and I didn't seriously begin that until I was in my 30s).

25) I've often wondered if my academic life would have been different had I been a boy. Would teachers have encouraged me to pursue a career in science, rather than ignoring my interests there?

Yup, I'll admit it, I'm a size queen. I like 'em big - the bigger the better! And my husband knows this, so he rented me a huge one as a Christmas present, and it was incredible.

( Cut to save your Friends Page. Please click through! )

In summary, the 600mm is A+++, would rent again!

Looking back on 2008 it was just an average year for me; some good things happened, some bad things happened, but it wasn't extraordinary in either direction. While I feel I accomplished some little things it just wasn't a year for major achievements.

I don't like to make New Year's resolutions, per se. If there is something I want to accomplish I set that as a goal, regardless of what time of the year it is, and I don't want to set some goal just because it is the beginning of the year. That being said, I have one goal in particular that is waiting until the end of this holiday season to put into effect, the quintessential "take better care of myself" credo: eat better and exercise regularly.

I have another goal, another hope for the new year as well, and that is To Make A Difference. Prior to 2008 I'd often hear people talk about how they wanted to "change the world." And I always thought that wasn't for me as I just wanted to meander my own path and enjoy myself. Then something happened and I realized I couldn't just sit here watching everything I love be destroyed and not do anything about it, so I spent some time thinking about what I could do in that regard. Now I have some solid ideas which I am already working on, and I am partnering with others to make them happen.

Here's to a 2009 full of hope and accomplishments.

I'm in the middle of two weeks of "winter vacation." We've been given a couple of weeks off at The Marine Mammal Center, and even though I only work (on-site) one day a week, this is a very nice break. Although, without a crew day to mark my Tuesdays, and these holidays falling in the middle of the week, I'm completely confused as to what day it is.

I suppose it's good that I don't have to work right now because I'm just getting over a cold. It's nothing bad - just a run-of-the-mill head cold - but it's also the first time in three years (and the second time in five? six? seven?) years that I've been sick. Poop! Now I have to reset that clock.

For whatever reason, lately I've been reading even more than usual. Looking back at my list (yes, I keep a list of the books I read) it appears that I am on a non-fiction kick. The last eleven books, plus the one I am currently reading and the next one in the queue, are all non-fiction, and all but two are about various biology/natural history-related topics.

I'm looking forward to going back to work and being back on-call next week, especially since when I go back it should be to a brand-spanking-new, multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art (is that enough hypens?) facility!

P.S. Why I love San Francisco:

The NOVA special featuring the Marine Mammal Center aired for the first time last night and it was exciting to watch! Sometimes when you're mired in day-to-day workings you don't realize the far-reaching effects of your work, and this just brought it all home for me.

I was quite surprised at how often I appeared on camera. It's not like I was trying to get in there, but rather, the film crew kept coming back on days I was working. I was also at the Pier 39 rescue attempt showing at the beginning of the documentary, although you can't see me. If you missed "Ocean Animal Emergency" it is being rebroadcast on PBS several times this week, and is also online here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ocean911/program.html.

One of the animals featured in the special was a little harbour seal pup with a mass of tumours on his lower jaw. His post-mortem exam showed that "Brussel Sprouts," as he was aptly named, tissues contained abnormally high levels of petrochemicals. Last November, the Cosco Busan oil spill occurred in the San Francisco Bay at a time when female harbour seals were pregnant. At the time it was unknown if the oil spill had adversely affected marine mammals. We'd occasionally find a pinniped with a spot or two of oil on its fur, but nothing that was even worth catching the animal to clean it. But now with Brussel Sprouts' lab results we see that the oil spill did have long-lasting severe effects. And we don't know how many miscarriages, deformities, or deaths went undiscovered.

The Center has been getting a lot of press coverage this week. Frances, our head veterinarian, was interviewed on the Today Show (short clip, about three minutes) on Monday morning. And Monday evening, Jeff, our Executive Director, appeared on Nightline (a six minute clip). This will probably be our last flurry of media coverage before our brand-new center opens in June. We're really looking forward to that!

Our big television special is tomorrow night, Tuesday the 25th! The Marine Mammal Center is being featured in the NOVA episode Ocean Animal Emergency which airs at 8pm on your local PBS station (Channel 9 in the Bay Area). The Center has shown up on many TV and news shows before, including an episode of Dirty Jobs, but afaik this will be the first quality prime-time science show that is dedicating an episode to us. I'm very excited to see it!

The NOVA website has an interesting story from the producer of this show in which, among other things, he talks about a seal that was (most probably) caught in a fishing net and killed. It is sad, but what is worse is that this past year, out of approximately 32 harbour seals which were fitted with satellite tags and subsequently tracked, THREE of them were (to the best of our knowledge) caught and killed in fishing nets. That's ten percent of the pups that we followed, and that only includes the few weeks or months in which the satellite tags continue to transmit. That sort of thing is part of the reason why I will not eat fish and why I refuse to support the fishing industry.

I took some photos of the NOVA crew when they were on-site earlier this year (click through for more):

I have decided that my life will not be complete without a baby hippo.

Exhibit a:



Exhibit b:



Exhibit c:

So cute!