What do you do if you happen across a carcass or an animal that seems to be in distress? Call the Stranding Network at 541-270-6830.
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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What do you do if you happen across a carcass or an animal that seems to be in distress? Call the Stranding Network at 541-270-6830.
An unlikely visitor to the Oregon Coast -- a live sea otter -- was transported by Jim Rice to the Oregon Coast Aquarium for care after it was bitten by a shark.
In a video interview with KGW8 News, Stranding Program Manager Jim Rice talks about a dead gray whale that washed ashore near Yachats.
A reminder to please give a very wide berth to seal pups on the beach, including keeping dogs far away.
Jim Rice, stranding program manager for the Marine Mammal Institute, said it’s normal behavior for what the seal is currently going through — catastrophic molting.
Jim Rice was recently interviewed by the Willamette Week about the process of responding to marine mammal strandings on the Oregon coast.
At approximately 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 5, a live 39 foot sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) was reported to be struggling in shallow water on the beach amongst large rocks at Face Rock in Bandon, Oregon. It became high and dry with the outgoing tide under a bright, warm sun. Supportive care was provided by personnel with the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation (OPRD), Oregon State Police (OSP), and several local and regional volunteers (who...
Jim Rice, who coordinates the statewide Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network headquartered at OSU's Marine Mammal Institute at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, urges the public to refrain from touching or approaching seal pups, which in most cases are not orphaned or abandoned. Seal pups are frequently left on the beach by their mothers, who are out looking for food.
According to Jim Rice, stranding coordinator for the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University, the boys are getting geared up to vie for a mate when they return to California during late May and June.
The north Oregon coast’s Sand Lake Recreation Area near Pacific City received a rather large and unsettling visitor on Friday. A camp host at the area discovered the corpse of a 39-foot gray whale. Jim Rice of OMMSN responded.
Nearly 10,000 Oregonians have purchased gray whale license plates since they went on sale a year ago, providing critical support for Oregon State University researchers studying gray whales that frequent Oregon’s waters.
At springtime, harbor seal pups are frequently found alone on area beaches. They are usually not stranded but simply resting and waiting for their mothers to come back ashore to nurse them. Adult female seals are shy and unlikely to rejoin a pup if there is activity nearby. Please remember to stay away from seal pups and to keep dogs from disturbing them. Mother seals may only return to suckle their pup at night when people and dogs are not around. It is very important not to interfere with this process, and especially not to move a pup from where it is receiving care from its mother.
A bacteria outbreak is making sea lions sick along the Oregon Coast, so state officials are warning people and their dogs to stay away from the animals. The outbreak began in September and likely will last into December, said Jim Rice, coordinator with the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Anyone who comes across a sick sea lion or other ill marine mammal is asked to stay at least 50 feet away and call Oregon State Police dispatchers at 800-452-7888.
As in past years, we are currently seeing a significant increase in the frequency of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) appearing on Oregon beaches in varying states of health and disease. Many have been affected by Leptospirosis, a contagious bacterial infection of the kidneys. This disease causes animals to appear very lethargic and unable or unwilling to move their hind limbs, and is often accompanied by weight loss and pneumonia. While it is possible for infected animals to recover from this disease if given plenty of opportunity to rest, there is no option to rescue and rehabilitate these animals in...
The Marine Mammal Institute will be well represented at this year's Sharing the Coast Conference in Waldport, OR. Leigh Torres will be providing the keynote address at 6:30 pm, Friday, March 3, 2017. Dr. Torres will discuss the latest in research into the lives of gray whales and other marine megafauna inhabiting our coastal waters and ways in which citizens can help scientists monitor whale populations. Her presentation is free and open to the public.
On Saturday, March 4, Jim Rice, coordinator of the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network, will give an overview of the state’s marine mammal populations and explain how citizens can engage in tracking these populations through reporting stranded animals, alive or dead. The...