Marine Mammals

In a small building in a corner of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center property on Laguna Canyon Road, several boys clustered around a large, plush pinniped. Pinnipeds — the suborder of large marine mammals that includes walruses, sea lions and the different types of seals—are the name of the game this summer at the center, which is holding yet another season of its runaway hit, Camp Pinniped. The week-long summer camp teaches kids all about the center, which rescues, rehabilitates and releases stranded or injured sea lions, harbor seals and elephant seals.

Pacific Marine Mammal Center has received a bequest of $267,123 from the JoHannah Sisson Charitable Trust. Dixie Jordan, Trustee, along with Lee Leary, Pat Griggs, and Sue Brown, all longtime friends of JoHannah, visited the center recently to present their friend's gift. Sisson was a resident of Laguna Beach for 47 years and spent 30 years as a teacher and counselor in the Santa Ana Unified School District. During her lifetime she was active as both volunteer and donor with the Center (then Friends of the Sea Lion)

The Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce took a trip to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center for its monthly networking luncheon Tuesday. The field trip-themed event came complete with a boxed lunch, though the gourmet eggplant, turkey and tuna sandwiches provided by A La Carte probably wouldn't be found in many children's lunchboxes. There was also an educational presentation on marine mammals by the center's education director, Meg Jones, during lunch to add to the educational flair.

SchoolPower raises more than $300,000 SchoolPower's April 28 annual dinner dance and auction at the Montage Resort & Spa raised more than $300,000 for Laguna public schools. The non-profit organization raises funds for the Laguna Beach Unified School District, which are then distributed based on the recommendations of principals, teachers and the superintendent. It was the first public education foundation in Orange County when it was established in 1981. The Hearts of Montage charitable group, comprised of Montage employees, provided a $45,000 donation to the organization.

An increasing number of California sea lion pup barks echo across Laguna Canyon's walls signifying Pacific Marine Mammal Center's busy season is in full swing. The center is now the temporary home of eight sea lion pups that came ashore across Orange County either sick or starving. "Our goal is essentially to make sure these animals are safe and the general public is safe when they show up on the beach. They are wild," said Emily Wing, the center's director of development and marketing.

The Pacific Marine Mammal Center is pooling its resources to improve facilities for ailing or injured sea creatures brought there to recover. Four new pools are under construction, expected to be completed by the end of January. On Monday, representatives of the California Daughters of the American Revolution presented center officials with a check for $5,000 to help fund the project and educational programs. "The DAR always has a conservation project," said state Regent Anne Lampman . "As state regent, I get to pick the project.

Outside a tall red barn, a diminutive harbor seal, Peeps, flops in and out of a blue wading pool, anxiously awaiting a handful of herring. Peeps was rescued from Point Mugu in Ventura County on Easter Sunday — hence his name. At only 16 pounds and about one week old when he was rescued, Peeps is the smallest of the pack of harbor seals currently housed at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Canyon. A little more than six months later, his new habitat is preparing to celebrate its 35th anniversary with a Marine Mammal Masquerade on Oct. 29. The gala, to be held from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Mozambique, will feature live music, South African cuisine, live auctions and festive masks.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our concern over a photograph of environmental videographer Earl Richmond holding a Pacific harbor seal pup that was published in the Jan. 27 edition of the Coastline Pilot. Although we are not aware of the circumstances under which the photograph was taken, we must discourage the general public from seeking out similar photo opportunities. Marine mammals are protected under federal law and it is always a source of concern to us when we see photographs such as this that may encourage the public to pick up or otherwise disturb one of these protected animals.

Lauren Vane Tommy the sea lion likes to show off when visitors come to see him. He splashes around, in and out of his small pool, and presses his face against the fence of his pen at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. Tommy arrived at the center when he was abandoned shortly after he was born -- about seven months ago. Since then, Tommy has been living at the center, where he has been hand-reared and nursed by staff and volunteers.