Distressed Animals   /   Oil Spills   /   Marine Mammals

Distressed Animals -

If you see a wild animal in distress in our area, here are numbers you can call:
Peninsula: San Mateo Office - 650 340-8200
SouthBay: Palo Alto Office - 650 494-7283
Palo Alto Animal Services - 650 329-2413
San Francisco: San Francisco Animal Care and Control 415 554-6364

Oil Spills / Oiled Animals -

The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) is a statewide collective of trained wildlife care providers, regulatory agencies, academic institutions and wildlife organizations that works to rescue and rehabilitate oiled wildlife in California.

Please contact this group to report a spill or dead/oiled animals.

Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) http://www.owcn.org  (U.C. Davis)

Oiled Wildlife Sightings Hotline: 1-877-823-6926 (1-877-UCD-OWCN)

Please call this number if you observe any live or dead oiled wildlife in California.

Emergency oil spill number: 916 556-7509  (On call pager for OWCN)

Volunteers are crucial to oiled wildlife rescue efforts in California.  The best way to help out with rehabilitation of oiled animals is to get involved before a spill happens with one of the participating organizations in this network.

Become a trained volunteer:   http://www.owcn.org/volunteer-info/206
By volunteering with one of these organizations you'll gain valuable animal contact experience and you'll be eligible for OWCN's specialized training in rehabilitating oiled animals.

Marine Mammals -

Call The Marine Mammal Center at 415 289-SEAL (7325) if you see a distressed, wounded etc... marine mammal. Get as much information as you can per the link below if possible before calling:

http://marinemammalcenter.org/what_we_do/rescue/whattodo.asp

The Rescue Hotlines operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Never pick up a stranded or sick marine mammal, especially a seal pup. Many people who thought they were doing the right thing in picking up an apparently abandoned pup actually harmed or killed a healthy animal. Marine mammals need the temperatures we consider freezing cold. People who have picked up pups and tried to keep them warm actually caused a healthy pup to overheat, causing brain damage and even death. Another problem caused by this is when mothers are at sea feeding, and picking up a pup separates it from it's mother.

When in doubt, call the MMC and at least get advice over the phone. If you remember 415 289-SEAL, you can always reach the main line.