Marine mammal issues up close

Suzie Harrison

Four-week-old California sea lion pup, Tommy, who was rescued on

Monday, is one of the huge bonuses to being a camper at Pacific

Marine Mammal Center’s Camp Pinniped.

Children ages 8 to 12 will learn about sea lions and marine life

at the camp. They will also engage in mock rescues and other fun,

educational activities.

“This is our favorite time of the year, we look forward to Camp

Pinniped every year,” education coordinator/animal care supervisor

Kirsten Sedlick said.

Education director Beate Litz echoed those sentiments.

“We will have treasure hunts, and one of the traditions is the

coveted downstairs time where they learn animal care duties,” Litz

said.

Alternating sentences, Litz and Sedlick explained some of the

duties the campers would do.

“They will lay out the fish for the afternoon feeding, make fish

smoothies and do a mock tube feed,” they said. “They’ll learn rescue

procedures and be able to go in the intensive care area where the

general public is not allowed to go.”

Tommy is one of the lucky rescued mammals. He was found Monday at

Moss Point Beach in Laguna Beach. A resident heard cries at 3 a.m.

While looking through binoculars, he saw the tiny sea lion by the

rocks.

“We waited a few hours to make sure the mother wasn’t going to

come back,” Litz said.

Animal care officer Joy Falk confirmed he was alone. She could see

where the female [mother] climbed up the rocks and gave birth.

“The baby tumbled down off the rock and Falk saw the female

leave,” Litz said.

Litz went to the rescue, plucking him out of the cold. “He came in

hypothermic. He was sitting in icy cold water without a mom ... he

was like ice and only 15 pounds. Now he is 18 pounds.”

Females usually stay with the pup nursing and tending to them, but

Tommy’s mother left within hours of giving birth.

“She didn’t put the pup up higher, so he was wet and cold,” Litz

said.

On the way to the marine mammal center, Litz cranked the heat on

full blast to warm Tommy. She was sweating, but he quickly fell

asleep cozy in the front seat.

Because he is so young, Tommy will be hand-reared.

Not wanting to give too much away about some of the new things the

kids will participate in -- Litz said that the days will be modeled

after their favorite game and reality TV shows with the campers

having to step into character.

Campers will further foster their creative sides during arts and

crafts, including driftwood mobiles and visors.

“They learn about seals, sea lions, dolphins and whales ... on a

broader scale about the ocean in terms of waves relative to the

beaches that they normally go to,” Litz said.

They also learn to differentiate between breakers or plungers.

“Marine safety is thrown in the mix, they will know how to

maneuver [responding to the type of waves] and how the bottom is,”

Litz said. “They’ll learn about sound in the water too, and how

marine mammals use sound in their environment.

Blue whale noises and all different types of vocalizations will be

taught.

“We will have different challenges, both mental and physical,”

Sedlick said.

Living out the life of an elephant seal in a day is one of those

challenges, including the relationship between the alpha male and

females. The males develop chest shields to impress possible mates.

They will vote on who makes the best shield, but will also have to

consider the factors they’ve learned in making their choice.

“Females will want to be with the strongest male, and they will

have to pick which one will win,” Litz said. “We’ll measure how big

they are, so they’re learning size.”

They pointed out a harbor seal in care for a shark attack and

pointed out its injuries.

“They will learn the predator and prey relationship,” Sedlick

said. “We can tell what type of shark it was by the tooth marks and

the angle of attack.”

The camp has gained a lot of popularity, and it gets a good

portion of return campers -- some for the past four years.

“Sometimes they love it so much they’ll sign up for two sessions

in a summer,” Sedlick said. “We have some of the kids club [the after

school program] come for the summer camp, too.”

Camp Pinniped will run Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to

2:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with after-camp

care until 5:15 p.m. for an additional $150 per week.

Each week is $225 per camper or $203 for members. Available camp

dates include July 5 through 9, July 12 through 16 and July 26

through 30. The other weeks are full and are being booked quickly.

Pacific Marine Mammal Center is at 20612 Laguna Canyon Road. For

information, call (949) 494-3050 or online at

https://www.pacificmmc.org.