Organization: THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER
Mission: ADVANCE GLOBAL OCEAN CONSERVATION THROUGH MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE (CONTINUED ON SCHEULDE O)AND REHABILITATION, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, AND EDUCATION.
Activities: RESCUE AND REHABILITATION: THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER RESCUES AND REHABILITATES SICK AND INJURED MARINE MAMMALS AT ITS STATE-OF-THE-ART VETERINARY FACILITIES BY ENGAGING A DEDICATED WORKFORCE AND A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY. SINCE 1975, THE CENTER HAS RESPONDED TO MORE THAN 24,000 MARINE MAMMALS, INCLUDING SEA LIONS, ELEPHANT SEALS, HARBOR SEALS, FUR SEALS, SEA OTTERS, AND MORE. IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE HAWAIIAN MONK SEALS FROM EXTINCTION, THE CENTER OPENED THE FIRST-EVER REHABILITATION FACILITY DEVOTED TO THIS ENDANGERED SPECIES IN 2014, AND SINCE THEN HAS REHABILITATED NEARLY 2 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL POPULATION, WHICH IS ESTIMATED AT ABOUT 1,400 INDIVIDUALS (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)THE CENTER ADMITTED 442 AND 1,169 MARINE MAMMALS WITH THE HELP OF VOLUNTEERS WHO RECORDED MORE THAN 76,000 AND 165,000 VOLUNTEER HOURS SERVED, AN ESTIMATED WORKFORCE VALUE OF APPROXIMATELY $2.4 MILLION AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2020.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH: THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER LEARNS FROM THE PATIENTS IN ITS CARE AND CONTRIBUTES TO SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHANGING HEALTH OF OUR OCEAN, TAKING ACTION TO ADDRESS OCEAN THREATS AND SAVE ENDANGERED SPECIES. IN 2020, SCIENTISTS AT THE CENTER CONTRIBUTED 13 RESEARCH PAPERS TO PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS. IN 2020, 69 VETERINARY STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD INTERESTED IN LEARNING FROM ITS WORLD-CLASS TEAM OF EXPERTS WERE SCHEDULED TO VISIT THE CENTER, HOWEVER, 23 WERE DEFERRED DUE TO COVID-19 TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.
EDUCATION: THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER LEADS AS A TEACHING HOSPITAL BY TRAINING VETERINARY PROFESSIONALS LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, AND INSPIRING FUTURE OCEAN STEWARDS THROUGH INNOVATIVE SCHOOL AND PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS. IN A TYPICAL YEAR, THE CENTER MAY REACH 100,000 CHILDREN AND ADULTS THROUGH IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING, BUT THAT NUMBER WAS REDUCED TO JUST 11,000, AS THE CENTER WAS ONLY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR 33 DAYS IN 2020. IN 2020, THE CENTER'S EDUCATION PROGRAMS WERE DELIVERED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE DUE TO COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS. WHILE THE CENTER LOOKS FORWARD TO RE-OPENING WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO, THE CENTER IS DELIGHTED THAT ITS ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAMS ALLOWED THE CENTER TO REACH TWICE ITS TYPICAL NUMBERS (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O), WITH MORE THAN 200,000 INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATING IN A SUITE OF PROGRAMS OFFERED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
NTEE category: Animal-Related
Secondary category: Environment