 The
Marine Mammal Center rescues hundreds of animals each year along
central and northern California coastlines and bays. The number
of animals admitted to The Marine Mammal Center varies by season
and year. For example, in an El Niño year, there are
an increased number of strandings. The year following an El
Niño often has a reduced number of strandings. Over the
past 25 years, The Center has seen an overall trend of increased
strandings. This is partially due to the increase of human population
along the coast resulting in more people finding stranded animals.
Another factor is the increase in animals impacted by direct
and indirect human activities.
Please find graphs with available rescue statistics below. Note that graphs may not always be up-to-date.
This graph depicts the number of animals admitted to The Marine
Mammal Center since its inception in 1975. The spikes in 1983-84,
1992-93, and 1998 are due to El Niño conditions.
This
graph depicts the average number of animals rescued and admitted
from each county of our rescue range. The majority of our
animals are rescued along the central coast of California
from San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties.
This
graph depicts the number of animals rescued by species. The
most common species of marine mammal admitted to The Marine
Mammal Center is California sea lions, followed by northern
elephant seals and Pacific harbor seals.
This
graph depicts the number of animals rescued each month. The
Center's busiest months are April, May and June when newly
born and recently weaned animals are more vulnerable to environmental
conditions.
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