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Leeza Metrovich

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The Marine Mammal Center •

Newborn Hawaiian Monk Seal Pup Now Receiving Care

RU72 is the pup of a well-known seal on Hawai‘i Island, Waimanu (RW34), that is suspected to be the largest female seal in the entire population. Waimanu has given birth to at least four pups in the past, but possibly due to her size, she has unfortunately experienced significant challenges nursing. Her first pup in 2013 died after weaning due to a fishing hook ingestion and her following three pups died before weaning. Given Waimanu’s long and well-documented challenges nursing past pups, the C...
The Marine Mammal Center •

Bird Flu Vaccine Trial Offers Hope for Protecting Hawaiian Monk Seals

The world is experiencing a rapidly spreading outbreak of H5N1, a highly contagious and deadly strain of avian influenza, or bird flu. As the virus jumps from species to species, from wild birds to domesticated birds and even to mammals, global biodiversity faces an existential threat.

Seals and sea lions are ocean predators that are vital to maintaining balance in the ecosystem. But as bird flu has exploded globally over the last...

From Treating Sick Sea Lions to Tracking Them in the Wild: Follow Autumn

When California sea lion Autumn was spotted on the beach, she was underweight, exhausted and showing signs of distress like open-mouth breathing. Thankfully, a concerned beachgoer called The Marine Mammal Center’s response hotline to give her the help she desperately needed. 

Once rescued and at our hospital, Autumn underwent a thorough admit exam and laboratory tests where our veterinary experts confirmed how very sick this sea lion was. She was sadly suffering from leptospirosis, a bacteria...

Your Visual Guide to Sea Lion and Seal Behavior

Seals and sea lions are both pinnipeds, which means they have front and rear flippers. While they live in the ocean, these animals are also able to come on land for long periods of time. If you have ever spotted these animals in the wild, you may have witnessed their fascinating behaviors and wondered what seals and sea lions are really doing.  

Some behaviors can vary from seals to sea lions and species to species, while other behaviors can be observed in all pinnipeds. From waving their fli...

Life-Saving Disentanglement Frees Northern Elephant Seal Liddie from Ocean Trash

Among the scientists who were on the beach that day studying weaned elephant seal pups were The Marine Mammal Center’s veterinary experts and our partners at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) and Vandenberg Space Force Base. Fortunately for elephant seal Liddie, these experts were already stocked with the medical supplies and equipment necessary to disentangle her. 

Beginning this rescue mission was not a simple task, however, as it required authorization fro...

Studying Elephant Seals of the Central California Coast

Adult northern elephant seals are known to have one of the longest migrations of any mammal in the world, traveling up to 13,000 miles each year from shore to their feeding areas in the northern Pacific Ocean. The species spends the vast majority of their time—about nine months of the year—in the open ocean, only coming to shore twice each year to breed and molt. 

Despite extensive research conducted on the migrations of adult seals, very little is known about elephant seal pups that have wea...

Why Should We Talk About Climate Change?

Marine mammals are sentinels of the sea: ecosystem indicators whose health provides insights into both the ocean’s health and our own. And right now, they are sending SOS signals.  

The burning of fossil fuels, like coal, oil and methane gas for energy and transportation, is releasing carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere. That carbon dioxide is acting like a heat-trapping blanket, warming the air, land and ocean.  

While marine mammals are resilient, warming waters can move fish popu...

How Sea Otters Can Help Save the Planet

Within this ecosystem and at the top of its intricate food web are sea otters: guardians of the kelp forests. Sea otters are a keystone species, which means they are essential to maintaining a healthy ecosystem, and can even restore it. As top predators of invertebrates, sea otters dive to the ocean floor to forage for shelled creatures like urchins, crabs, clams and abalone. Unlike most marine mammals, they rely on a very rapid metabolism and extremely dense fur to stay warm in the chilly ocean. In fact, sea otters eat about a quarter of their body weight every day!
The impact of a keystone species extends far beyond the animals they primarily prey upon, so how does a sea otter’s big appetite protect an entire kelp ecosystem?

Conservation Technology: 5 Innovations In Ocean Health

As a global leader in marine mammal conservation, The Marine Mammal Center is conducting vital research and developing innovative techniques to address alarming ocean health concerns. With ocean conditions rapidly changing, our work is more important than ever—and technology is reshaping how we approach critical conservation efforts.  

Thanks to support from people like you, we are utilizing groundbreaking tools and strategies to better understand and safeguard marine mammals. Our experts are...

Your Visual Guide to Whale Breaching, Lunge Feeding and Other Behaviors

In recent years, increasing numbers of whales have been traveling into the nutrient-rich waters of San Francisco Bay to find food and seek refuge along their migrations. For nature enthusiasts and researchers alike, this means you don’t have to travel far to see these amazing whale behaviors from shore or boat.

Humpback whales started rebounding from the brink of extinction after hunting was put to a stop—a conservation win for endangered marine mammals. Since the population has grown, more wha
The Marine Mammal Center •

Seal vs. Sea Lion: Your Guide to Knowing the Difference

Do seals have ears? One of the most obvious ways to distinguish seals from sea lions is by looking at the sides of their head.

Sometimes referred to as true seals or “earless” seals, marine mammals in the phocid family, such as harbor seals, have ears and hear very well, but do not have external ear flaps. Instead, true seals can be identified by their small ear holes.

Unlike true seals, sea lions and fur seals have external ear flaps; these animals are in the otariid family and are sometimes
The Marine Mammal Center •

What Do Sea Otters Eat? And Other Otter Trivia

Did you know that a sea otter’s diet helps fight climate change? Sea otters are a keystone species, which means they are essential to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. As top predators, they help control populations of purple sea urchins—which are voracious kelp grazers—so that kelp forests can flourish. And not only do these thriving kelp forests provide habitat to other species, but they’re also very efficient in capturing carbon dioxide, which strengthens our natural defenses against climate change.
The Marine Mammal Center •

Animal Enrichment in Rehabilitation

To ensure our patients are prepared—physically and mentally—to thrive in the wild, experts at The Marine Mammal Center incorporate behavioral enrichment into rehabilitation. Enrichment is any stimulus or activity that aims to improve the physical and psychological health of an animal. And as an educational tool during rehabilitation, enrichment encourages species-typical behaviors while helping an animal develop crucial problem-solving and survival skills.

Our animal care experts use their beha
The Marine Mammal Center •

How To See the Gray Whale Migration and Help Save a Life

Thousands of gray whales embark on the longest migration of any mammal each year, swimming up to 14,000 miles roundtrip from their Arctic feeding grounds to the warm lagoons of Mexico. As they generally stay in shallow waters, gray whales are a truly coastal species, and there are many amazing opportunities to see them from California’s beaches, headlands and coastal cliffs.

Once on the verge of extinction, the recovery of the eastern North Pacific gray whale population was considered a monumen

When and Where to See Elephant Seals in California (and Livestream!)

Seeing elephant seals in the wild is a truly remarkable experience, and coastal viewpoints in California offer breathtaking sights of this species that you won’t want to miss. As you watch these large, blubbery mammals interact in their natural habitat, the experience is made even more special knowing that you are witnessing a conservation success story.

Northern elephant seals were hunted to the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th century. After decades of being slaughtered for their bl