WMMSN.org

Are you guys tired of hearing about my favorite volunteer organization, Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network?  I hope not!  If you're an avid reader of my blog, facebook or twitter page, you already know that I am a volunteer responder for WMMSN.  What you may not already know is that I also volunteer as the webmaster for the site.  It gives me one more way that I can help to spread the word about helping distressed and stranded marine mammals in my local area.


The springtime is historically a busy time for stranding calls.  This is the time of year when our local harbor seals bring their young pups ashore while momma seal goes fishing durring the day.  Typically the mother seal will come back in the night and feed her pup, but sometimes mother is unable to return and little seal pups quickly become dehydrated without intervention.  That's where our group comes into the picture.  We receive calls from all over the county about stranded pups and we respond and assess the situation.   We also respond for other marine mammal calls such as porpoises that may have injuries, or even deceased mammals like the dead Gray Whale we responded to last year.


You may already know, but the little seal pup in my banner atop this page is a response we were called to last summer.  This little pup was stranded for several days on a beach here on Lummi Island.  After we realized that the mother was not returning to feed him at night, we were able to take him to Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation one of the rehab centers that we work with and he was nursed back to health and then released back into the wild to live out his life


Winter time is a slower time for calls, although dead animals can wash ashore at any time of year, and our responders will go out on calls occasionally throughout the winter.   But being a slower season, we are using this time to put our focus on fundraising.  As a non-profit and all volunteer organization, we are in need of financial support to help us help the marine mammals.  Money we raise now will provide the neccessary supplies when we are called out to respond throughout the year.


I've just updated our home page with an option to donate and help our cause.  It's a secure donation through paypal.  You might notice I've added it on the sidebar of this blog as well.  If you are a supporter of this great effort, please consider making a donation large or small.  Every bit helps us to do our job and respond to marine mammals throughout our county.


You may also like to support us by becoming a facebook fan.  We send out periodic updates to your wall and the show of support is encouraging to all of our volunteer members.


Thank you all for your support!
~Christi