The Marine Mammal Center is situated on the West coast of California. Its goal is to rescue harbor seals, elephant seals and sea lions that are sick or dying on the beach. The Marine Mammal Center makes a difference in the seal lives because it saves approximately fifty percent of them. There are a lot of vets who take care of the seals. In addition, those vets need help from volunteers. This contribution is essential for the Center because without them, the vets would not be able to rescue all these animals.
Moreover, the research done at this Center helps to improve the general knowledge of the vets about how polluted the seas are. Studies show that there is an increase in domoic acid, a toxic chemical produced by phytoplankton found in the ocean off the West coast of California. Vets think that all of this chemical is responsible for the increase in seal cancer, and what affects seals could affect humans one day.
To obtain information about their environment, their behavior and the way they track food, specialists at the Marine Mammal Center put a kind of computer on the head of the rescued animals and, after, they release them. One myth that has been demystified, by using this technology, is that seals are not lazy at all. In fact, they go half way around the Pacific Ocean to get food.
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