Frequently Asked Questions:
Following are some of the most common questions we receive. Part
of our mission is to educate the public about marine mammals and
strandings to not only better educate the public, but to raise awareness
to create better environments for our marine wildlife.
The Marine Mammal Conservancy can come and speak to your school
or organization about marine mammals, strandings and environmental
concerns facing the habitats they occupy. The educational presentations
are free to all K-12 schools and to organizations in the South Florida
Area. Public school presentations are also free around the United
States. The only time we charge for our program is when we speak
outside the South Florida Area or to private organizations. Those
charges are for travel, lodging and meals only. As an all volunteer
group, there are no speaker fees, though donations to MMC are encouraged.
If you would like more information and a presentation outline, please
e-mail us at info@marinemammalconservancy.org or visit our contact page
for further options.
Why
do marine mammals strand themselves?
Why
do marine mammals sometimes mass strand?
Why does
MMC claim such a great success on strandings?
Aren't marine mammals
protected by law?
How can I get involved
as a volunteer?
Why
don't they just take stranded marine mammals to a place like Sea
World?
How long do marine mammals
live?
Why do marine mammals strand themselves?
 It's
a good question and there is no one easy answer. Viral, bacterial,
and parasitic infections are the most common medical factors. Marine
mammals can also get diseases that can cause a variety of problems
including tumors. Pollution of our coastal and offshore waters is
also a factor in making them sick. Sometimes, it's just old age.
When marine mammals are sick or injured, they often look for shallow
water. Think about it. Marine mammals are air breathing and must
have their blowholes above the surface of the water to take in air.
Sick marine mammals often don't have the energy to constantly surface
to breathe and the energy spent in swimming is often too much
for the animal to accomplish. We believe marine mammals have a fear
of drowning just as we do. Back to Questions
Why do marine mammals sometimes mass strand?
Most marine mammals travel in pods which are groups of animals.
When a single or even a few members of the pod get sick and seek
shallow water, so does the rest of the pod. Experience has shown
that the sickest animals are probably the leaders (who are often
the oldest animals) and have led the rest of the pod into shallow
waters where they all strand. Pods are often very tightly-knit groups
and our experience has shown that there is a lot of reluctance to
leave sick animals that are part of the pod. A lot of these instances
show that not only have the sickest animals not eaten in a while,
but even the healthier ones are dehydrated and malnourished as well.
Back
to Questions
Why does MMC claim such a great success on strandings?
As our stranding history shows, without the support
and efforts of those listed, MMC would not be able to share in the
claim of the success it has enjoyed. MMC's policies (derived through
experience and the expertise of all of those involved) have contributed
to our success rate. For example, MMC believes that marine mammals
should be treated and rehabilitated as close to the original stranding
site as possible. Transport is often a sure killer of stranded marine
mammals. Another policy is to give a stranded marine mammal time
to get used to humans. We never rush the often very stressful procedures
required to treat them. By taking our time, keeping things quiet
and calm, and getting the animal used to being handled by humans
we have found that the animals respond accordingly.
Finally, MMC is constantly consulting
with experienced marine mammal veterinarians and experts for their
advice and medical expertise in the treatment of these sick animals.
Despite these efforts, we often fail in our attempts. It is an unfortunate
fact of stranding work. Last, but not least, we have been lucky
enough to be in the right place at the right time. There are a lot
of organizations that participate in marine mammal strandings that
have a 0% success rate. Back to Questions
Aren't marine mammals protected by law?
Yes, following are the departments of the U S Government and the
related U S Congressional Acts which give them the responsibility
for oversight of marine mammals:
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS): NMFS is an agency of
the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration which is an
agency of the Department of Commerce. NMFS is responsible for the
oversight of wild marine mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection
Act. NMFS responsibilities include the oversight and coordination
of the Stranding Network in the United States and its territories.
NMFS also regulates and oversees the permitting of rehabilitation
and releases of marine mammals by the different organizations. NMFS
also collates the data obtained from live strandings and necropsies
performed.
United States Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS): FWS is an agency
of the Department of the Interior. FWS is responsible for the oversight
of manatees under the Endangered Species Act. FWS also regulates
and oversees the permitting of rehabilitation and releases of manatees.
Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS): APHIS is an
agency of the Department of Agriculture. APHIS is responsible for
the oversight of marine mammal parks and aquariums or those marine
mammals held in captivity under the Animal Welfare Act. APHIS regulations
govern the handling, maintenance/space and standards for marine
mammals in captivity. Back to Questions
How can I get involved as a volunteer?
Please visit our Volunteer page
to learn how to help. Back to Questions
Why don't they just take stranded marine mammals to a place like
Sea World?
Most marine mammal parks and aquariums will no longer take stranded
marine mammals into their facilities. There are very good reasons
for this. One, they don't want to infect the captive populations
with whatever disease or infection a stranded marine mammal may
have. This lesson was learned the hard way in 1991. Second,
most facilities no longer have the space or personnel to treat sick
and injured marine mammals. Third, most facility personnel should
not interact with stranded marine mammals offsite due to the danger of disease tranmission to the captive population. Back
to Questions
How long do marine mammals live?
It depends on what species we are talking about. Some dolphins
live well into their fifties. Some whales into their eighties. Unfortunately,
most captive dolphins and whales don't do as well, but there are
exceptions. Manatees have a normal life span of about sixty years.
Back to Questions
Further questions can be submitted to rgl@marinemammalconservancy.org.
We will reply as quickly as possible with the answers.
|
