For more than 40 years, the Marine Mammal Center has rescued seals, sea lions, dolphins, and porpoises in distress. The center provides the specialized medical care and facilities these unusual patients need to recuperate, then returns the animals to the wild. Its Marin Headlands facility has rehabilitated some 18,000 marine mammals rescued from more than 600 miles of California coastline. Patients range from emaciated pups to adults disoriented by domoic acid poisoning to animals wounded by gunshots or constricting fishing line.
Join NCSWA to tour the Marine Mammal Center with a docent, see the patients, and see a rescue demonstration. The hospital should be jumping. It’s pupping season now, and the warm waters of The Blob and El Nino have left many pinnipeds bereft of their usual prey.
Afterward, we visit nearby Point Bonita Lighthouse to tour the last manned lighthouse on the California coast. Dating to 1877 and located on a rocky outcrop reached by a suspension bridge, the lighthouse is still operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The lighthouse is located 2 miles from the Marine Mammal Center. Parking is extremely limited, so consider caravanning from the Marine Mammal Center with fellow NCSWAns. Reaching the lighthouse involves a steep, rocky, and windswept half-mile hike from the parking lot, but the view at continent’s end is well worth the effort. The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy offers guided tours of the lighthouse until 3:30 pm.
Consider arriving after lunch and bringing snacks and water to enjoy during the field trip; food and drink will not be readily available.
Marine Mammal Center Date: Saturday, February 27 Time: arrive a few minutes before noon; tour goes from noon-12:45 p.m. Location: 2000 Bunker Road, Sausalito CA 94965. (Google Maps) Cost: $9
Point Bonita Lighthouse Time: 1:15 p.m. or so (after Marine Mammal Center tour) to about 3 p.m. Location: Fort Barry, Building 948, Sausalito, CA 94965 (Google Maps directions from Marine Mammal Center) Cost: free
