More than meets the eye
Did you know about the Vancouver Aquarium's Marine Mammal Rescue facility? There's much more to the Aquarium than the exhibits in Stanley Park that you see as a visitor. The
Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre (VAMMRC) is a hospital for sick,
injured or orphaned marine mammals, in East Vancouver. Each
year, the VAMMRC team rescues,
rehabilitates & releases nearly 150 animals. While most of the
patients are harbour seal pups, the veterinary team
has also provided medical treatment to elephant seals, sea otters, sea
lions, whales, & porpoises, many of whom were successfully released
back into the wild.
First patients of the year
Last weekend, the VAMMRC welcomed its first rescued harbour seal pups of 2013. Red Square, as the Rescue Centre team has named him, is one of the first pups to arrive at the Rescue Centre, described by staff as “feisty.”
A resident of Finnerty Cove (near
Victoria) spotted the
newly-born seal on a private beach. After observing that he was without his mother
for over 24 hours, she called the Rescue
Centre & reported that the small animal was squirming around on the
beach. She'd even seen the poor thing suckling on a log. After Rescue Centre
staff gave her specific instructions on how to retrieve & handle the
seal pup, Red Square was flown to Vancouver
thanks to Harbour Air/WestCoast Air, where he was greeted by the Rescue Centre
team.
“Although
he arrived underweight and malnourished, he was a fighter and very
vocal, which are positive signs,” explains Lindsaye Akhurst, manager of
the VAMMRC. “Provided we can stabilize him, the plan will be to
provide him with the nourishment he needs to gain strength and weight,
teach him how to forage and, hopefully, return him to his natural
habitat in the next few months.”
Rescue Centre staff determined that Red Square was most likely
prematurely born due to the soft
white fur, called lanugo, that still covered his body. The young pup is currently being
hand-fed a nutrient-rich formula five times a day & closely
monitored by the veterinary team.
Each year, the Rescue Centre takes suggestions for a naming theme that is adopted for the summer season to guide the names of each rescued seal. This season, seal pups will be named after celestial bodies, which was suggested by the Rescue Centre’s supporters.
What can you do?
If you
see a stranded marine mammal, do not approach it and keep pets away.
Please call the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre at
604.258.SEAL (7325) for immediate assistance.
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