The Marine Mammal Center : Our Patients

Every year, on average, we help approximately 600 distressed marine mammals, rescuing and rehabilitating them at our hospital facilities in the Marin Headlands.

Our patients include include pinnipeds like California sea lions, northern elephant seals and harbor seals, as well as sea otters, whales, dolphins, porpoises, and even sea turtles.

We may have dozens of patients on site at any given time in various stages of treatment or rehabilitation.

The most common reasons these animals have been rescued and are under our care are:

Malnutrition as a result of an ever-changing shift in the ocean food chain, becoming separated from mom during weaning, or illness
Illnesses such as toxic algae poisoning, bacterial infections and even skin disease
Entanglements in ocean trash
Gunshots
Boat strikes
Shark bites