Animal Protectors and Heroes - The Marine Mammal Center - Harbor Seals, Elephant Seals and Sea Lions. Oh My!

Harbor Seal - Elephant Seal - Sea Lion

With the amount of time Phil and I spend in nature and photographing the local wildlife, there is no way for us not to love and feel protective of them.  We had an encounter today with what we consider to be heroes.  The Marine Mammal Rescue were actively saving a sea lion with an injured flipper, Zee informed us that the flipper seemed not to be broken and it had a little infection.  The Marine Mammal Center would  treat the infection and release it.  

Where they were retrieving the seal from, is a place we spend a whole lot of time in, as many birds hang out there....and I love taking photos of birds.  We saw the truck and stopped to watch what was going on.  A friend Jim joined us and told us of other stories when he had watched other rescues.  What a great job they did, it was quick, effective and humane.  

 Jim reminded us how heavy the seals can be, Phil started looking at the people carrying everything.  He turned right into the old Phil.....the one who could not resist helping others.  

He told me he wanted to go help.  Of course, I was apprehensive, nervous and told him to be careful.  He's been working out, taking care of himself and was feeling confident.  As he always has, whether it be a person with a flat tire, an accident on the side of the road or someone who needed a ride - Phil was always there.  Firefighter, medic and always willing to lend a hand, just being Phil, there he was.

He headed right down and offered a hand.

The sweet part of the story, is when they finished loading the seal up, Zee approached Phil and told him he could name the seal.  Phil looked at me and he said Butterfly.  Which for us, has so many meanings, we live in the Butterfly town, Pacific Grove and Phil had his first seizure, leading to his brain cancer diagnosis in the Butterfly Grove Inn (we love the hotel, have stayed there a couple of times) next to the Butterfly Sanctuary.  But  what he had on his mind, is right after he had his seizure, I was trying to make him laugh, I told him we were going to change our last name to Hellion.  I told him I wanted to be Linda Butterfly Hellion.....

Zee told him that she wasn't sure that she would have that name, so she looked at his hat and said she would keep Fayetteville in mind, as he had his Fayetteville Fire Dept. hat on.  I checked this morning to see if the Sea Lion had been named....not yet, I will update as soon as I see what the name is. 

We continue to try to live life to the fullest.  Dog sitting, walking and having adventures....

Life keeps showing us people who are doing wonderful deeds.

Thank you to The Marine Mammal Center for all they do.

What a great organization to give a contribution to if you are able -

Marine Mammal Center Donations

I spend a lot of time with the wildlife of Monterey Bay....

Here are some of the photos of them I have collected along the way.

Wonderful creatures, one and all.

Many hours of my time have been dedicated to the Harbor Seals in our area. I have a friend who has a great Facebook page that I help take photos for during pupping season, please check her out at 

The Harbor Seals of Pacific Grove.  

My favorite photo ever is the photo above, of a Harbor Seal pup making its entrance into the world.  It took a look around before it have broken through the placenta.

Harbor Seals and more Harbor Seals

The Harbor Seal Pup above is just about to be weaned!

We have the occasional Elephant Seal visit our area beaches.  I find them cute and impressively large.

One of my favorite places to check for wildlife is by the Coast Guard Jetty in Monterey.  There is usually barking sea lions swimming and basking there.

The next MRI is scheduled for the Sept 28th and we will see the doctor again on Oct 4.  We are obviously keeping ourselves entertained and busy.

Much love to all!  As soon as I see what the seal lion is named by the Marine Mammal Center, I will add it into the blog!

Life is Grand.....Kiss, hug and tell the people in your life that you love them.

Each moment is precious.

Animal lives too!  Be kind to all living creatures, please.   

The name has been announced:

09/18/18

Butterfly

California Sea Lion

Asilomar State Beach (Pebble Beach) - Pacific Grove, Monterey

Juvenile

Male

33.5

malnutrition, trauma, non-HI (known),