Marine Mammal Center: Working with Worms and Volunteering with Seals

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00:00:12;01 BG: My name is Brooke Gardner and I'm a graduate student at UCSF.
00:00:16;04 and I'm here at the Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands.
00:00:20;00 talking to Kajusa Brejc who is a staff scientists at Berkeley and HHMI.
00:00:26;02 First, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work at Berkeley?
00:00:30;14 KB: My background is structural biology and biochemistry
00:00:33;13 and currently I work in the laboratory of Professor Barbara Meyer
00:00:38;20 whose lab is interested in dosage compensation and sex determination of C. elegans.
00:00:45;05 BG: And how did you become involved in volunteering at the Mammal Center?
00:00:49;13 KB: When I moved to the Bay Area from Europe back in 2001,
00:00:54;02 I was thinking of volunteering at a non-profit organization that involved work with the animals.
00:01:01;19 So, I was looking around and cam upon a notice on the Marine Mammal Center
00:01:08;06 I got interested and attended their orientation and decided to join.
00:01:13;03 So, starting from September 2002, I have been volunteering at the Center.
00:01:19;06 BG: Can you tell us what you do as a volunteer?
00:01:21;08 KB: I am part of the group of volunteers on the Wednesday night crew
00:01:27;03 at the Marine Mammal Center and we're involved in the husbandry part.
00:01:33;13 So that means we are taking care of the animals while they're here at the Center.
00:01:38;27 BG: Can you tell us about what the mission of the Center is?
00:01:41;11 KB: The mission of the Center is the rescuing and the rehabilitation of the marine mammals.
00:01:46;27 The Center is also doing the scientific research as well as doing the education of
00:01:53;08 the public about the marine mammals, their health and the health of their environment, the ocean.
00:02:00;23 BG: Can you tell us what types of animal are represented here?
00:02:03;15 KB: Marine Mammal Center rehabilitates California sea lions, harbor seals, fur seals,
00:02:13;06 sea otters, dolphins, and there are also cases of whales.
00:02:20;00 BG: Co you want to describe for us what you do on a shift?
00:02:23;04 KB: Our shift starts with preparing all the food for the animals
00:02:27;08 and depending on the time of the season we would either prepare
00:02:33;19 the formulas which are made from salmon oil and milk powder
00:02:37;22 or the food would be fish, typically herring.
00:02:42;10 So depending on what stage the animals are, we feed them appropriately.
00:02:47;01 Then we would feed the animals at particular time points.
00:02:50;01 So that means our feeding times are 8 o'clock and at midnight.
00:02:53;26 If animals' needs requires some medication, that will also be taken care of.
00:02:58;21 Afterwards, we feed the animals. We observe the animals that everything went fine.
00:03:06;10 We have to clean the pans, we have to sanitize the pans and make sure that the pans are clean.
00:03:12;17 We will have to clean all our dishes and utensils, record all the observations,
00:03:21;00 and make sure that we have followed all the recommendations from the vet staff,
00:03:26;00 and so basically that...we repeat that at 8 o'clock and at midnight.
00:03:30;06 And we finish the crew.
00:03:32;13 BG: How does the Center identify seals that need rescuing and how do these animals come to you?
00:03:36;19 KB: If the general public finds an animal that's alone on the beach
00:03:42;15 or in places where it's not supposed to be, like on the street, close to humans,
00:03:48;14 then people would call the Marine Mammal Center or notify other agencies
00:03:54;06 and they would get in touch with the Marine Mammal Center
00:03:56;12 who would then send volunteers to collect the animal and bring it to the Center.
00:04:04;01 There are also cases where animals are entangled in the nets
00:04:10;05 or in some kind of marine debris and they would be also rescued from the water.
00:04:16;03 So there are different ways of how the mammal are found.
00:04:19;05 BG: Can you tell us how you train these pups to fend for themselves in the wild?
00:04:23;10 KB: We are trying to minimize contact with the animals as much as possible
00:04:27;09 so that the animals don't get dependent on humans.
00:04:30;08 So that means we would not talk while in the presence of the animal.
00:04:36;01 We would handle the animal as quickly as possible during the feeding time.
00:04:42;08 We would stay away from the fence
00:04:45;07 and we would try to avoid that the animals associate food with humans.
00:04:51;02 So that means in the case of the California sea lions,
00:04:55;22 we try not to, for example, have a fish in a hand and show it to the seal
00:05:04;04 because California sea lions are extremely smart animals
00:05:08;17 and they can make that connection.
00:05:10;13 So, we are trying to keep them as wild as possible during the time they are at the Center.
00:05:17;01 BG: How long are they usually at the Center?
00:05:19;01 KB: Harbor seals, depending on their condition,
00:05:23;01 whether they are sick, whether they have an infection
00:05:25;29 or whether they are just being separated from their mothers,
00:05:28;29 they can stay at the Center...and depending on their progress,
00:05:31;29 how well they gain weight and they learn to feed, they can stay at the Center between 2 to 3 months.
00:05:40;10 BG: Where do you release them?
00:05:41;21 KB: The release of the animals happens at the remote beach where there is not much of human traffic
00:05:50;18 and usually they are released in a group of 2 to 3 animals
00:05:55;10 depending on how many animals are ready to be released at that given time.
00:05:59;19 BG: Do they each get names?
00:06:01;03 KB: Each of them gets a name. Their named by the rescue volunteer group.
00:06:08;11 And they are very creative names.
00:06:13;19 And each of the animals have their own personalities as well.
00:06:17;18 So it's very easy for some animals to be recognized every week
00:06:22;08 when we come back to see them and recognize them.
00:06:25;26 BG: How many animals are usually here at one time?
00:06:28;03 KB: On average years we would have up to 35 animals on site
00:06:32;06 but there are a couple of years where we had almost 70 animals.
00:06:36;00 BG: Do you see any parallels between working in lab and working with the harbor seals?
00:06:40;10 KB: No, none.
00:06:44;02 No, let me rephrase that. With the worms or with bacteria is does not matter, right?
00:06:49;06 Yeah, you repeat the experiment...it's bad but it's no big deal, right?
00:06:54;15 Here, when you put the tube into the animal,
00:06:58;08 you really want to make sure that you're in the right spot and that you are not harming the animal
00:07:03;27 because it would be devastating to lose an animal due to a mistake, human mistake.
00:07:11;24 BG: So, when you have a long day in the lab, this is completely different afterwards?
00:07:16;10 KB: Oh, yeah!
00:07:18;10 BG: Do you think it helps to have something that's separate?
00:07:21;12 KB: Yes. It puts everything into perspective. It gets you out of the lab.
00:07:27;27 You can do something else and you meet new people from different walks of life.
00:07:36;03 And we have been now, most of our crew, almost 8 years together.
00:07:43;02 So we work well as a team. So you get to learn how to work with other people from different backgrounds.
00:07:49;15 BG: What's your favorite part of volunteering?
00:07:51;22 KB: Depending on the time of the season, there are different things.
00:07:55;14 Being outdoors because this is a really beautiful spot where the Marine Mammal Center is located.
00:08:02;05 Working with the animals and having seen them progress and eventually be released is
00:08:08;04 really very rewarding.
00:08:10;06

This Talk

Speaker: Katjusa Brejc

Audience:

General Public
Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
Student
Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Researcher
Educators

Recorded: April 2012

Talk Overview

Every Wednesday night during the spring pupping season, Katjuša Brejc volunteers at The Marine Mammal Center near San Francisco. She is part of a crew of volunteers who are responsible for feeding, caring for, and rehabilitating stranded or injured harbor seals. Her hard work is rewarded when the seals are released back to the wild. Overall, the MMC and its volunteers help about 600 animals every year.

About the interviewer: Brooke Gardner was a graduate student in the Tetrad program at UCSF. She is currently a Miller Research Fellow at UC Berkeley.

Speaker Bio

Katjusa Brejc

Katjuša Brejc is a staff scientist in Barbara Meyer’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Meyer’s lab studies sex determination and dosage compensation in C. elegans. Brejc is also a longtime volunteer at The Marine Mammal Center where she works with harbor seals. Learn more about the Marine Mammal Center and the research… Continue Reading