Today was an exciting day at the MMC. Three California sea lions were ready to be released! Also, the BBC was there doing a story on the sea lions. They had been following them for a few weeks and were there to film the release. There was a lot of action at the MMC today!

Five sea lions were originally scheduled for the release. Four of them were infected with leptospirosis and one had domoic acid poisoning. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that causes a shutdown in kidney function. It is a major problem with marine mammals. It is also the same bacteria that pregnant women are at risk of contracting from house cats. Sadly, one of the animals with leptospirosis showed significant signs of kidney failure and was not fit for release. Also, the sea lion with domoic acid poisoning died over the weekend. So, five sea lions for release was reduced to three. I was so sad for the two that didn’t make it. I guess the best thing to do is focus on the positive, the fact that three were able to be rehabilitated and released. If it weren’t for the MMC, they all would have died.

Around 11:00 in the morning, we loaded up the sea lions into their respective carrying cases. They were very resistant as usual. I like the fact that they have spirit. It shows that they have a lot of life in them. They then had to be weighed and hauled into the MMC truck. Since they were being released on the MMC beach, we didn’t have too far of a drive. When we got down to the beach, there was a huge crowd! There was a school group there and some of members of the public, as well as the BBC crew. It was pretty exciting. We opened the carrying cases at the same time, so the sea lions could be released together. When they finally dove into the ocean, they noticed each other. They swam over to each other touched their muzzles together. They looked like they were kissing! I know they don’t have human emotions, but that was pretty close if you ask me. They seemed so happy to be free!