This patient is a northern elephant seal, our second most commonly rescued species. We typically see orphaned pups that have stranded during mid-February to late June. Strong storms often wash these young seals off beaches before they have weaned from their mothers or learned how to survive on their own.

This results in many malnourished and underweight pups needing rehabilitative care. Northern elephant seals suffer from disease as well, such as skin disease, pneumonia and parasites like lungworm.