Marin -- The Marine Mammal Center (#0096)

This seal/sea lion had pneumonia and had to be hand fed. Per the docent it was recovering well and its prognosis was good, but due to the amount of human contact required in its care, it would be donated to a zoo or similar sanctuary rather than re-released to the wild.

I’ve taken friends to the center probably 7 or 8 times over the past 30 years. Visiting there is always a mix of a sad and positive experience. Sad because of the constant reminders of all of the stupidity we humans do that result in these animals becoming patients, but positive because of the evidence of continued volunteering to assist the animals AND contributing to result in a well-run center.