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 Founded
in 1975, The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit organization
that rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured, sick and
orphaned marine mammals (seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises,
whales and sea otters) along a 600 mile stretch of
California coastline, from Mendocino County through San Luis Obispo County. Before The Center was established, stranded marine
mammals were either left to die or were destroyed as threats
to public health.
The Marine Mammal Center scientists conduct  research
on marine mammal disease immunology and publish research findings
in leading scientific journals. Strict protocols ensure that
the animals' health is not harmed during the course of our
studies. The Center's medical and science staff work with
colleagues all over the globe, most notably from England,
Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Scotland, the Netherlands,
France and Germany.
The Center operates from five locations: our hospital site
in the Marin Headlands, just over the Golden Gate Bridge from
San Francisco; our field offices in Anchor
Bay, Monterey,
and San Luis
Obispo; and our gift store and interpretive center at
San Francisco's PIER 39.
People from all over the world visit The Center. More than
100,000 people are reached by The Center's education
programs each year.
The Center is the largest marine mammal facility of its kind in the world
to combine animal rehabilitation with an on-site research
lab, and the only one to treat between 500 and 1200 animals
a year.
The Center relies on the generosity of private contributions
from individual foundations and corporate sponsorships for
funding. Over 87% of our annual budget goes directly into
our animal care, veterinary science and education programs.
We have 35,000 members from all over the United States and
increasing numbers worldwide.
The Center is staffed by 800 volunteers,
who comprise 95% of our total personnel, and 40 paid staff.
Volunteers work on animal crews, serve as docents, rescue
animals, staff our retail operations, and provide significant
support to our veterinary science and administrative staff. Paid staff includes our veterinarians, vet techs, scientists, educators, and administrative personnel.
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