I called the IFAW Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Program.  They are permitted to respond to stranded animals.  As a trained, authorized volunteer with IFAW, I went a little closer to report on the animal’s condition.  (Some beachgoers held Shanti for me – dogs and seals should be kept away from each other for both of their safety.)

The seal was a gray seal pup, in good body condition, alert and vocal.  It had it’s “lanugo” coat – a fluffy light gray coat these animals are born with.  It’s umbilicus, however, was fully healed.  This told me the animal was between ten days and one month old.

Because it was near dark and the pup was feisty and robust, Misty at IFAW decided to leave it on the beach overnight and check on it again in the morning.  Gray seal pups are weaned as young as 14 days.  As small as the pup seemed, it was old enough to be on its own and leaving it on the beach was giving it a chance to make it on its own.

Be well, young seal, and prosper.

So what should you do if you see a seal on the beach?
~ Stay at least 50 yards away.  If the seal reacts to your presence, you’re too close.
~ Ask other people to stay away, and keep dogs at a safe distance.
~ Observe the animal from a distance, note it’s size, weight, markings, body condition, and whether or not there are any wounds.  If you have a camera or camera phone, take a photo.
~ Note your location and any significant landmarks nearby.
~ Call the authorized stranding network organization.  It is illegal – and dangerous – for untrained people to get too close to seals.  On Cape Cod, call the IFAW Marine Mammal Rescue Hotline at (508) 743-9548.  Elsewhere, check out this map from NOAA to find the authorized respondent in your area.  If you can’t find the number, call your local animal control or police department; they will have the number of folks who can help.
~ Follow the stranding network personnel’s instructions.

Remember that seals periodically come out of the water to rest on the beach.  This is normal and, in fact, necessary for seals.  Unless an animal is clearly in distress, most stranding networks prefer to leave an animal on the beach for at least an overnight in order to see if the animal will leave on its own.

One day soon the National Marine Life Center’s new marine animal hospital will have pools to care for seals that are sick and injured.  Click here to help.

Photo by CUNY.

Gazelle accepts used electronics, including Cell Phones, Laptops, Digital Cameras, MP3 Players, Video Games, PDAs, Gaming Consoles, GPS Devices, Movies, Camcorders, Desktops, LCD Monitors, Satellite Radios, Calculators, External Drives, Camera Lenses, Projectors, Streaming Media, Home Audio, and Blu-Ray Players.  After signing up for an account, you submit the items you’d like to sell.  Gazelle offers you a price and, if you accept, sends you a postage-paid box for your items.  Once they receive and inspect your items, they will send NMLC a check for the sale amount.  The gadgets themselves are either resold for reuse (after all personal information is removed) or responsibly recycled.

Featured by CNN, the Today Show, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, www.gazelle.com is a wonderful way to recycle unwanted gadgets while helping to open NMLC’s new marine animal hospital.

Turtle USB Hub by www.USBfever.com

iTurtle laptop speakers by www.laptopsarena.com

“December 29, 2009

“Friends,

“Our family decided many years ago that we would step decisively away from the commercial aspects of Christmas.  We agreed that we would no longer give each other individual gifts, but instead we would dedicate the cash saved to causes which call to all of us.  This has turned out to be a much more gratifying way to celebrate the spirit of the season.

“This year, in the days leading up to Christmas, we read, in the Cape Cod Times, of the shortfall which is keeping your building project from coming to completion.  We were especially concerned, knowing how many turtles are depending upon you – right now.  These turtles appear on our neighborhood beaches, and we’ve known many of them personally.  We have decided that we want to make a small gift in support of the goal of opening the “turtle ward” as soon as possible.  We wish that we might offer a larger sum – but these are bracing times for humans as well.

“May your efforts proceed with all due speed.  Many thanks for all your efforts on behalf of sentient beings.”

“31 inch striper on black paper” by Joe Higgins, Fished Impressions

Looking for a last minute holiday gift?  Check out these beautiful fish prints by artist Joe Higgins.  According to Joe, fish prints – or “gyotaku” -  have their roots in 19th century Japan when fishermen would record their catch by coating the fish with ink and rubbing paper on it to make a print.  Joe is following in the same tradition by making impressions of the fish he has caught.  The results are unique artwork.

Between now and December 31, Joe will donate 100% of the proceeds of his original prints to the National Marine Life Center, the Jimmy Fund, or the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem (buyer’s choice).  Proceeds donated to NMLC will help us complete our new marine animal hospital and open for stranded sea turtles.

For a truly unique gift that also gives back, visit Joe’s gallery
FishedImpressions.com.  For more information, contact Joe directly at 978 944 1709 or higginsad@mac.com.

P.S. This is not the first time the National Marine Life Center has benefited from Joe’s creativity.  When he’s not fishing or creating art from fish, he helps organizations and businesses market themselves.  Earlier this year he created a great sign for our hospital construction project.  Click here for the story.

The Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus) lives on coral and is distributed throughout the world's tropical oceans. Climate change leads to ocean acidification which can lead to coral bleaching which would result in this animal - and many others - being homeless. Photo by Richard Ling.

In case you haven’t seen it, there are some interesting comments in response to the postings on marine animals and climate change.  One of my favorite is from 11-year old Mia.  She writes:

“…all i want for christmas is for the climate to improve.i try to get people to recyle more things and use less paper,plastic,etc.,but it seems to me that i can not make a difference.i really love animals and i just want them to live happy lives like that animals that lived when there was not as much climate change or when it was what it was supposed to be.i can only hope some people will help and try to do something.this is what i really want for christmas.do not get me wrong i love wrapped gifts as much as the next 11 year old , but i think that climate recovery is more important.who needs the newest video game ,or a new twilight shirt(which is not all that bad),but to know the climat eis better and animals can live better , that is much better then any toy.Sure you could have the hottest new toy out there,or you could help make a difference.”

Thank you, Mia, for helping to make a difference!

Stranded harp seal. Photo by Barb Schneider.

Finally I thought about seals.  Seals are adaptable.  Seals can handle temperature variation.  Sounds good so far!

Many seals depend on the ice for pupping….  uh oh.

According to a Climate Institute report by Luisanna Carillo-Rubio, harp seal pups are already dying due to lack of sea ice on which they rest.  Additionally, seals’ prey species such as squid are being impacted by warmer temperatures.

Sounds like we need to do something about climate change – for the animals’ sakes if not our own!

Stranded harp seal. Photo by Mary Albis.

Killer Whale spyhopping. Photo by NOAA.

So then I started wondering – what about cetaceans?  Heck, wouldn’t a whale, dolphin, or porpoise love climate change?  More water, warmer water, more places to forage.  Turns out, that’s not the case….

According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society:  “Changes in sea temperature, freshening of seawater, sea level rise, loss of icy polar habitats and the decline of food sources are just some of the many threats posed by climate change.”

For the National Marine Life Center and our partners at the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Marine Mammal Rescue Program, unfortunately, that sounds like more strandings….

For a copy of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society’s report on “Whales in Hot Water”, click here.

Common dolphins. Photo by NOAA.

Photo by National Geographic.

As this week’s United Nations Convention on Climate Change wraps up in Copenhagen, I thought it would be worthwhile to consider the effects of climate change on sea turtles.

According to the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, who recently completed a report on the topic and presented it in Copenhagen, sea turtles are impacted by climate change in three ways.

1) Rising ocean levels. Rises in ocean levels reduce the amount of beach on which sea turtle females can nest.

2) Increasing temperatures.  Whether or not a sea turtle egg develops into a male or female depends on the temperature at which the egg incubates.  Warmer temperatures create more females.  If there aren’t enough males, the population cannot survive.  At the hottest temperatures, eggs won’t hatch at all.

3) Changes to ocean currents.  When ocean currents change, sea turtles may be thrown far out of their habitat and may be unable to return to feed or nest.

For the full report from Sea Turtle Restoration Project, click here.

Photo by Doug Perrine.

IFAW rescuing a common dolphin. NECN photo.

Over the past several weeks, Cape Cod has been inundated by stranded, cold-stunned sea turtles in what is being described as one of the largest years to date.  Now, the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Marine Mammal Rescue and Research group reports that dolphin strandings are also on the rise.  In the past week they’ve had 15 stranded dolphins, and that number is only expected to increase.

Video by NECN.

The National Marine Life Center urgently needs your help to complete our hospital and open our sea turtle ward to stranded animals.  Once the turtle ward is complete, we will add seal and dolphin pools so we can help these larger animals as well.  Please give today.  And thank you.

NMLC’s new marine animal hospital will have two dolphin pools, each large enough for 2-4 animals.  Conceptual drawing by cosestudi.

Please, give what you can today.

Stranded Kemp's ridley sea turtle, photo by Bill Allen, MassAudubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

Stranded loggerhead sea turtle, photo by Don Lewis, Cape Cod Consultants

Stranded Kemp's ridley sea turtle, photo by Don Lewis, Cape Cod Consultants

Stranded loggerhead sea turtle, photo by Don Lewis, Cape Cod Consultants