A new baby fur seal arrived at the Marine Mammal Center. She's really small, cute, and furry! She was found alone on a beach, without her mother. Sometimes a pup's mother will go out to find food and 
never make it back. This could be because she falls victim to a shark or killer whale attack. Isn't that so sad? I can imagine the little pup waiting on beach. The pups are too young to be able to feed on their own and are left stranded on the beach. They would end up starving to death without the help of rescuers. This pup was very thin when she arrived, only about 20 pounds. She has a great appetite though and seems to be fattening up (see video).
Even though she is really cute and cuddly looking, we have to be careful not to be too friendly with her. Pups can imprint on their caretakers very easily. There is a rule at the MMC about not talking too close to the pens. This goes for all the patients at the MMC. They are wild animals and the goal is to release them back into the wild. Therefore, they need to keep their natural fear
of humans. If you think about it, they should be afraid of us. Probably not anyone reading this blog, but unfortunately there are people out there that they should be afraid of.
Another reason baby animals come to the MMC is the result of overzealous rescuers. People will sometimes see a baby seal on the beach and assume the seal is stranded, when the mother is only out in the ocean finding food. They then scoop up the baby, thinking they are doing the right thing. I’ve heard stories at the MMC about people rescuing seals and trying to raise them in their bathtubs! The best thing to do if you see a stranded marine mammal is to notify the MMC or a local wildlife rescue agency.
Any guesses what the strange background noise is?
Posted by Christy Buckley on Oct 17, 2006
