Thursday, May 5, 2011

5-5-11 Day 2 Californa Trip Day 1 Marine Mammal Center

Aloha Good People
Alarm clock rings 5:45 AM and whoosh the day began, with three woman gathering gear, lunches and layers of clothing for cool mornings and hot afternoons.  We arrive at the Marine Mammal Center @ 7:00 to meet the Thursday crew of volunteers we will be working with.  (great group of people)  Lesley and I are assigned to the elephant seals and Terri heads off to the harbor seals.
- step one: kitchen introduced to a menu of fish, some with meds some mashed some small, some frozen some not. Every animal's bucket is weighed documented and a team goes out to feed. We get to observe everything from tubes pushed into seals throats, to people dangling fish in front of the little buggers
- step two: lesson in crowding boards... simple keep the board between you and the animal or keep the seal away from your team. EASIER said than done when there are 6 hungry seals charging at you.
-step three: cleaning the pool and pens.... dirty job but someone has to do it
- step four: observed a necropsy of a very young harbor seal.... never thought I would or could do it, but I did.
-step four: back to kitchen time for another feeding and out we go to the pens lesson in properly restraining a seal so it can be tube fed.
- step five: tube feeding a baby elephant seal.... WHAT? yes indeed I was able to do it (:Lesley became a pro in a matter of 15 minutes she fed five animals...)

We finish up and go visit Terri at the harbor seal section.... Oh my lord they are some of the cutest animals I have ever seen... and have the funniest cry.... maw maw maw....

Terri preparing to feed a baby harbor seal
 These little ones just melt your heart, I don't care who you are, no denying this cuteness
 Terri restrains (so different than elephant seals)...  
 Volunteer Veronica begins the tub feeding
 They really don't mind, and it is very quick process
 Terri now inserting feeding tube
 Thats about it.... good job
 And now the tasty fish mash
Tomorrow is another day, I suspect more tubing and restraining.... LUCKY US.... what a wonderful opportunity. ~da blog lady~ 

1 comment:

Dana Jones said...

Great photos of tube feeding. Will probably come in real handy in the future for new volunteers to see and understand. When the harbor seals talk it does sound like they are saying Ma Ma Ma. Just melts you heart.