Marine Mammal Conservancy - May 2005 Charity-of-the-Month

Mission Statement

It is our mission at the Marine Mammal Conservancy to provide professional and effective response and care for stranded marine mammals.

Marine Mammal Conservancy, Inc.
PO Box 1625
Key Largo, FL 33037-1625
tel: 1-305-451-4774
fax: 1-305-451-4730
email: info@marinemammalconservancy.org
website: http://www.marinemammalconservancy.org/

Mission Statement

Marine Mammals are under a constant barrage of environmental pressures threatening the health and perseverance of their species. If we are to help ensure these extraordinary creatures' continued success in our oceans we must first identify essential conservation needs.

It is our mission at the Marine Mammal Conservancy to provide professional and effective response and care for stranded marine mammals. Through this effort we will add to the overall understanding of marine mammals on both the scientific and public fronts. Via data collection, during both necropsies and rehabilitation, and through public education we will help ensure the success of an inspiring and threatened group of animals.

MMC's Husbandry and Rehabilitation Program will aim to perfect methodologies for preparing marine mammals for release back into the wild, while providing conditions for their optimal mental and physical health. We are proponents of natural lagoon/sea pen rehabilitation, believing it provides the least stressful and most successful rehabilitation efforts. With a 68% success rate compared to a nationwide 7% for cetaceans, the empirical evidence would suggest that MMC is on the right path in using natural lagoon/sea pen rehabilitation.

Purpose

The Marine Mammal Conservancy (MMC) is an Internal Revenue Service designated 501C(3) nonprofit all-volunteer corporation located on a three-acre lot on the Gulf Coast of Key Largo, Florida. The purposes of the organization are to:

{1} Establish a model program of protocols for the rehabilitation of stranded marine mammals.

{2} Establish a model program of protocols for the reintroduction of long term held rehabilitated marine mammals to their original natural habitats.

{3} Provide access to researchers for the further understanding and treatment of marine mammals as well as collecting and disseminating data to the scientific community.

{4} Monitor marine mammals in the wild for the further understanding of their behaviors and habitats.

{5} Improve marine mammal habitat by monitoring legislation that prevents over fishing and pollution.

{6} Provide an education program that focuses on the facts about marine mammals in the wild, trains the next generation of marine mammal researcher/rehabilitator and teaches environmental education to the general public.



CURRENT NEWS:
12 Rough-toothed Dolphin now in rehab at Marine Mammal Conservancy Key Largo site

12 Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno Bredanensis) are growing ever stronger in rehab at the Marine Mammal Conservancy site in Key Largo. For information on how rehab is going, click here.

ITEMS NEEDED: Ice, purified water, blankets, flashlights, batteries, large trash bags, oil-free sunscreen, wetsuits, heaters, 16 oz. disposable propane cylinders, first-aid supplies, masking tape, duct tape. See our complete wish list.

VOLUNTEERING: Volunteers are still needed - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! As this effort continues, volunteers keep it going. Please register to volunteer by calling the VOLUNTEER HOTLINE: 1-305-451-4774 (if no answer call 1-954-303-6763).

DETAILS OF SHIFT COVERAGE:
We are working in 6 four-hour shifts a day. 12 dolphins are currently in rehab, and as many as 8 volunteers are needed on every daytime shift, at least 4 volunteers on every overnight shift. Some vounteers will be at the water's edge as observers; we need others ready to get in and offer additional physical support if/when necessary. There is also much to be done on the site, so please come ready to work. We adhere strictly to the following rules for volunteers: Must be 18 or older, no jewelry, no long fingernails, if you are pregnant or if your personal health includes compromise to your immune system, you will not be able to be in the water with the dolphins, no personal care products on skin. A complete list of our rules is discussed during orientation for each volunteer shift.

Please go to our site for more information about volunteering.



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Part of our mission is to educate the public about marine mammals and strandings to not only better educate the public, but to raise awareness to create better environments for our marine wildlife.

The Marine Mammal Conservancy can come and speak to your school or organization about marine mammals, strandings and environmental concerns facing the habitats they occupy. The educational presentations are free to all K-12 schools and to organizations in the South Florida Area. Public school presentations are also free around the United States. The only time we charge for our program is when we speak outside the South Florida Area or to private organizations


Why do marine mammals strand themselves?

It's a good question and there is no one easy answer. Viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections are the most common medical factors. Marine mammals can also get diseases that can cause a variety of problems including tumors. Pollution of our coastal and offshore waters is also a factor in making them sick. Sometimes, it's just old age. When marine mammals are sick or injured, they often look for shallow water. Think about it. Marine mammals are air breathing and must have their blowholes above the surface of the water to take in air. Sick marine mammals often don't have the energy to constantly surface to breathe and the energy spent in swimming is often too much for the animal to accomplish. We believe marine mammals have a fear of drowning just as we do.


Why do marine mammals sometimes mass strand?

Most marine mammals travel in pods which are groups of animals. When a single or even a few members of the pod get sick and seek shallow water, so does the rest of the pod. Experience has shown that the sickest animals are probably the leaders (who are often the oldest animals) and have led the rest of the pod into shallow waters where they all strand. Pods are often very tightly-knit groups and our experience has shown that there is a lot of reluctance to leave sick animals that are part of the pod. A lot of these instances show that not only have the sickest animals not eaten in a while, but even the healthier ones are dehydrated and malnourished as well.


How long do marine mammals live?

It depends on what species we are talking about. Some dolphins live well into their fifties. Some whales into their eighties. Unfortunately, most captive dolphins and whales don't do as well, but there are exceptions. Manatees have a normal life span of about sixty years.


Aren't marine mammals protected by law?

Yes, following are the departments of the U S Government and the related U S Congressional Acts which give them the responsibility for oversight of marine mammals:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS): NMFS is an agency of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration which is an agency of the Department of Commerce. NMFS is responsible for the oversight of wild marine mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NMFS responsibilities include the oversight and coordination of the Stranding Network in the United States and its territories. NMFS also regulates and oversees the permitting of rehabilitation and releases of marine mammals by the different organizations. NMFS also collates the data obtained from live strandings and necropsies performed.

United States Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS): FWS is an agency of the Department of the Interior. FWS is responsible for the oversight of manatees under the Endangered Species Act. FWS also regulates and oversees the permitting of rehabilitation and releases of manatees.

Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS): APHIS is an agency of the Department of Agriculture. APHIS is responsible for the oversight of marine mammal parks and aquariums or those marine mammals held in captivity under the Animal Welfare Act. APHIS regulations govern the handling, maintenance/space and standards for marine mammals in captivity.



Marine Mammal Conservancy, Inc.
PO Box 1625
Key Largo, FL 33037-1625
tel: 1-305-451-4774
fax: 1-305-451-4730
email: info@marinemammalconservancy.org
website: http://www.marinemammalconservancy.org/