I went to my first class last night and it was pretty neat. We learned about the four species of seals and four different species of Cetecea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) that I will be dealing with. The only Whales we rescue are pilots. The bigger ones are handled by another agency.
I am being trained as a first responder. My job in the summer puts me on an island that is not covered by any of the 78 other first responders on our team. I will be responsible for a fairly well known area of strandings.
As a first responder I am being trained to assess and either assist the animal or get everyone in the area to leave it alone. Some seals are not stranded at all and just need to rest. The main problem with this is good samaritians don't realize this and stess the animals out with close contact.
The law actually states people need to stay 150 feet from sea mammals and Ceteceas. Not to mention these are wild animals and will bite. They have germs on their teeth that are know to really cause some problems for the person bitten. We learned how to cage a mad seal and not get bite. We transport them to the aquarium when needed and there was plenty of instruction on the finer points of doing this.
I really enjoyed my first class. I learned alot and am looking forward to my next one. The stranding season for harp and hooded seals is already suppose to be underway. These seals are 'ice seals' and only show when there is lots of snow. Them not showing is maybe a good thing from one point of view, from another it is not. We'll see how the winter ends.
I am just happy I am being given this chance to help out. More next time.

sounds cool

It was very cool. I suggest trying to help out any animals that need it. Our politics and ecological policies have a direct affect on the creatures of this earth and anything we can do to off set thier suffering is our obligation. The personal satisfation is well worth the effort!!!

Thought I would do a quick update here. As a intital responder, or first responder, with the Marine Mammal Stranding Team, life can be a roller coaster of emotions.
Our calls range from mad adults seals on a swimming beach,
to deceased animials brought in by the tide.
We could be called out for a Harp, Hooded, Harbor or Gray seal,
and it seems, more recently Ringed seals.
Our team has not had one yet but the Long Island Team has one now.
Harbors and Grays are the local seals and the Hooded and harps are Ice seals.
This means they are born on the Northern ice flows and then come here.
We also respond to calls for stranded sea turtles.
The species common to our area are Leatherback sea turtles
(Adults 5-8ft and 1500lbs) which are most common,
Loggerhead sea turtles(3-4ft and 450lbs),
Green sea turtles(3-5ft up to 500lbs), and Kemp's Ridley sea turtles(24in-32in).
We respond for strandings of Common Dolphins. White-sided dolphins, Harbor porpoise and Pilot whales. Any whales larger than a pilot are cared for by a different team than ours, but we may assist.
The Aquarium I work for really does a good job with the hook up concerning the equipment we have. We Have a newer 4 door, king cab, 3/4 ton 4 wheel drive pick up.
When responding we also carry what is called a level A initial responder kit.
It contains a cell phone, a GPS, a digital camera, a measuring tape, heavy gloves,sometimes tags,
and the forms that we need to fill out. The reasons for each item will become apparent.
The first thing to be considered, when responding to a live call, is the current safety
of the animal, of the bystanders, and of their pets.
Seals can be very aggressive and will bit you or your dog. They are a wild animal
that might be scared; never a good combination! Just stay way back. Seals do not
like eye contact. If you walk directly at them and look at them it is mimicing the
motions or their natural predators. If you think the seal is in trouble, call a pro, please!
Seals are very easily freaked out. Seals do not get cold so if the seal is
shaking it is scared. Many people with good intentions, see a seal shaking and cover it up.
This will really pump up the stress factor and if we get to a seal and it is covered
the chances are real good that the seal will have to come in for rehab. If a seal gets too freaked out it may not make the right choices and end up in harms way! The number one rule is stay away from seals on the beach!!! Seals do haul out just to rest on the beach or on the rocks
and unless it has been in one place for more than 24 hours we will not bring
in an apparently health seal.
One of the initial things we do look for is signs that the seal has been eating sand or beach rocks.
Ice seals are use to getting hydration from eating snow and some are not to smart in
telling the difference! These seals that do eat rocks and sand are doomed unless we can get them back to the aquarium under a vets care. If you see a seal eat rocks or sand help save him by calling your local stranding people!
Once we are at a scene, and the safety factor is covered, we first take a GPS reading.
We have three different forms to fill out. One we start as soon as we get the call and that one is the stranding sighting call info sheet. . This sheet covers the basic info about the call and the info about the animal generated from the call. Of course directions also go on this sheet.
We fill in what is called an initial response form, on which we put info like, the animals assigned #.
time left, time returned, mileage, Location of animial with details, The actual GPS reading of Lat./long., the length, Est. weight, the condition of the animial, the sex, signs of entanglment,
Disposition of the animal, if we took photos, the camera and photo #s and the weather conditions.
We also have to fill in a Marine Mammal Stranding Data Report which asks a bunch of the same stuff and a few other questions.
We then do an exam if the seal is alive. We look to see if it has missing or infected nails, heavy discharge from the nose, obvious wounds, goopy eyes, entanglment wounds, alot of broken or missing teeth, and
obvious signs of stomach bulge from eating rocks and sand. If we need to we can call our vet for any advice.
If we are bringing the seal in we then call the seal rescue clinic to tell them to prep for our new patient's arrival.


We then take a bunch of photos of the animal and the surroundings where he was stranded. Next is the sometimes tricky job of getting a seal into a kennel for transport. Always fun!
Now unfortunately some of the seals we respond to are dead or in bad shape. With the ones that have been
dead for awhile we just gather info and then bury them. We will bring any sick seal in but some are euthanized.
This is the hard part of the operation but I figure the ones saved is worth it.
If it is a recently killed seal we are required to reteive its body for Necropsy in hopes of saving others in the future!
After a seal rescue we are put on Quarintine. This means we can not go near the mammals in the Aquarium's collection.
With any luck we can do some good for the seal population. I enjoy it and I think the seals are smart enough to realize
they were helped! Well there it is, I hope you guys learned something, enjoyed it and didn't find it boring!
I also help out once aweek in the Stranding clinic. I feed and medicate and assist with check ups and ultra sounds. It is really a cool gig. I have learned alot.
If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I have a blog site at care2. Care2 is totally enviromentally friendly and has a seperate page with petitions to sign. The first link is to join (free) the second to check out my page. Click on the marine mamal rescue group. Feel free to comment. Peace. Ty

http://passport.care2.net/invite.html?g=8210
Rev. Ty R. - "To help any species here on earth. To help improve our eco-systems!" - My Care2

Attached Images

CAUZE7Y1.jpg (28.8 KB, 0 views)