"So each springtime we see a lot of young seals and sea lions needing the Marine Mammal Center's help," said conservation engagement director Adam Ratner. "So they're being separated from mom prematurely. Layered on top of that is that there are lots of animals out on the beach and a lot of people out on the beaches as well."
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He added that they are often alone and vulnerable when they're rescued.
They are also victims of human interaction that's both unintentional and preventable.
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Warning system working to keep whales safe along CA coast
"People see this little pup on the beach all by itself," Ratner said. "They think it's sick and abandoned and they go up to try and help it. Unfortunately, by getting too close to these animals, we can either be the ones to separate them from their moms or we can cause more stress."
To better understand what's going on, Giancarlo Rulli and the Mammal Center team began crunching data from the thousands of calls they receive every year. They matched the incidents to eyewitness descriptions of what happened.
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"Here we're looking at disturbance data from 2023," Rulli said, pointing to a graph of the interactions.
He said last year alone, nearly a third of the mammals rescued were involved in a disturbance to their normal routine.
In attempting to understand motivation, the team has identified two personality profiles that stand out. They call the first the Wildlife Protector. An individual who just wants to help the animal without understanding the risk. The second is the Wildlife Experience Seeker, who approaches far too close to the animal, often to capture a picture.
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"What this initial data set is telling us is twofold," Rulli said. "One, the love for marine wildlife is strong. And with that comes then those extra steps that people just taking the wrong action and getting too close. The other then on the tourist side is wanting to take that actual moment, capture it in real-time."
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He says the team has mapped out a series of harassment hotspots, stretching up the coast and beaches from Monterey to Mendocino County. And the Mammal Center is hoping outreach can change behaviors. The strongest advice is to stay at least 50 yards away from any marine animal, roughly the distance of three school buses, end to end. And if an animal is injured the most effective tool to help is your phone.
"Absolutely, we get over 10,000 phone calls a year from people out on the beach there. How do we find out if animals are sick or injured? So we depend on the community. We love the community and we want to arm the community with the right tools and actions so that we can both make sure that that animal gets the best second chance at life," says Ratner.
And if you do see a marine animal you believe is in danger, the Marine Mammal Center hotline is area code 415-289-SEAL.