Way back on June 18th I wrote a post about my volunteer gig with the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre (the MMR).
Since then I've had several shifts at the MMR and it is, quite possible, next to North Van Cares, the most rewarding volunteering I've ever been a part of.
This place is run like a Swiss time piece! The volunteers are tiered by experience so you start out as a purple shirt and work 50 hours in that position. Once you hit 50 hours you get promoted to blue shirt and then, when you work another 50 hours you get to be an ORANGE SHIRT!
Let me tell you, everyone wants to be an "orange"! They get to pick up seals! We purples (and blues) don't get to touch the animals and for good reason.
The training at the MMR is amazing because they really want you to succeed. (which makes sense because who wants a bunch of folks running around not knowing what they're doing) That said, I've never been in a paid, or unpaid, position where the training has been so encouraging and inspiring. There are, literally, no dumb questions at the MMR. You can ask anything and no one will every give you a look or bite your head off. This sort of culture, which comes from the top of the organization, means you feel so confident in asking questions and doing this right.
My Best Friend Salty!
On my first shift I met a seal named Salty. (donors to the VAMMR get to name the seals this year :) Though I don't know his story specifically, Salty really stood out among the seals that I met on my first shift back in July.
He was little. He was without his mom and was found somewhere in BC. That's how the seals get to the MMR. People from all over the province call in when they see a seal that is in distress. There are lots of reasons why seal pups come to us but mainly they've been abandoned by their moms. This is no shade the moms. Who knows what happened to them? They may have gone fishing, left the pup on land, and run into trouble that made it impossible for them to return. We don't judge.
When I peered into Salty's blue tub he looked up at me and I swear that seal smiled at me! His was the only the 2nd tub I was charged with filling and boy was he excited to go for a swim! He was so clearly happy with the water pumping into the tub that he kept looking up at me to make sure I'd keep it going. (this, of course, is all conjecture. I dont know what the seal was thinking. I just know he was a cutie pie)
Like most rescued pups Salty started his time at the MMR "in quar" or quarantine. There the pups are monitored, given meds if needed, kept warm and fed a combo with fishy smelling milk. They're gavaged (tube fed) when they're babies and they grow super fast.
Once Salty gained enough weight and was big enough he was moved "out of quar" into another section where he was taught how to eat fish. Yep, a vet tech has to teach these wee pups what a fish is and how to eat it. There are occasional arguments from the pups but Salty is the smartest and he figured it out very fast. The MMR calls this "fish school" which I think is hilarious!
Since my pal is the very bestest of all the seals at the MMR he quickly was moved to a bigger tank where he could hang out with some other seals. His big pool is so fun and he has a ton of room to swim and catch fish. I spent some time watching him yesterday and he was, obviously, the best one at fish catching!
If things continue to go well Salty will be released into the wild sometime in the fall. I wonder if he'll remember me. I have a theory that the seals that start out at the MMR hang
out close to Vancouver harbour so they can see us again. (also total conjecture ;)
If you've ever been curious about how the MMR rescues, rehabs and releases hundreds of marine animals each year check out their site and the enormously fun Instagram account!
Tofi and Luna
This year is the first time in it's 60 year history that the MMR has had 2 otter pups at the same time! I'm not sure who was in charge of designing otter pups but it's possible that they are the absolute cutest animals on the planet. And they know it!
Tofino (Tofi for short) and Luna were both rescued from Tofino this year. Otters are a lot more maintenance than seals and require round the clock care from the advanced volunteers and staff.
To see videos and photos of Tofi and Luna check out the Insta page. You'll probably get sucked into the scrolling vortex because it will just make you feel good to watch them :)
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