Final Internship Report (Ashley Rieseberg) November 23, 2011 FINAL INTERNSHIP REPORT. Ashley Rieseberg. Masters of Sustainable Development Program

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1 FINAL INTERNSHIP REPORT Ashley Rieseberg Masters of Sustainable Development Program Uppsala University Introduction This report serves as a reflection of the 14 weeks I spent as an intern at the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. My position here allowed for major hands- on experience in marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation. The connection to my Masters Program (MSc. Sustainable Development) naturally lies within the area of animal conservation. Sustainable development issues such as natural resource exploitation (overfishing), pollution, and climate change hugely influence the survivability of species and consequently, wildlife conservation. Wildlife protection has always been a passion of mine and consequently being in a position to help animals was extremely ideal for me. Human activity naturally has the potential to negatively impact species populations and well- being and this internship within a animal rehabilitation center allowed me to not only witness firsthand some of these impacts, but also contribute in this area. Many of the baby seals brought into the centre were in an extremely poor state as a result of human

2 intervention. Such examples of this include mother abandonment, physical abuse by humans or human vehicles (i.e. boats) and injuries from dog attacks. A prime example of human activity negatively impacting wildlife was Flash Gordon, an extremely underweight California Sea Lion who came into the centre this summer. Flash Gordon was found lethargic and emaciated in the wild with a foot- long fishing flasher hanging from his cheek that was preventing him from eating. This hook had to be surgically removed from his esophagus and we were able to successfully rehabilitate him and release him back into the wild. My work with Flash Gordon inspired me to do my thesis work on California Sea Lions, where I am focusing on the harmful algae bloom Pseudo- Nitzschia and the corresponding impact the neurotoxin it produces (domoic acid) has on the California Sea Lion population. Position Overview (Main Duties) The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre (MMR) is a part of the Vancouver Aquarium, which according to it s mission statement is a self- supporting, non- profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, education, research and direct action (Vancouver Aquarium, 2011). MMR is a direct action program that aims to rescue and rehabilitate abandoned, injured, or stranded marine mammals, with the main and final goal always being to release these animals back into the wild. In the past, MMR has

3 played host to a wide variety of animals including elephant seals, Steller sea lions, California sea lions, harbor porpoises, common dolphins, sea otters, harbor seals, and killer whales. Harbour seals are by far the most common patients, with 150+ seal pups entering the facility just this summer. The internship at MMR allows for students to participate and experience first hand the fast- paced and demanding environment of a wildlife rehabilitation center. While this internship is largely focused and catered towards pre- veterinary students or veterinary technician students, it is also an excellent opportunity for science students to learn about the inner- workings of a rehabilitation center. Intern duties include but are not limited to: General cleaning duties Food preparation Animal feeding (including tube- feeding) Assisting in animal rescues and animal releases Assisting in physical animal examinations Animal record keeping General animal handling and restraint Wound cleaning Subcutaneous fluid administration Lab procedure work

4 Challenges As a student with an undergraduate background in Finance, working in a non- office environment initially proved to be a bit of a challenge. The culture- shock of working in an unfamiliar atmosphere combined with the fact that I was largely unknowledgeable and uninformed in the area of animal care left me feeling a bit apprehensive about my decision to work in such a place. I am normally used to gaining my bearings quite quickly, knowing exactly what to do, and excelling at the tasks assigned to me but the case was quite the opposite at MMR - I was in a workplace foreign to anywhere I had ever worked before. Needless to say, it was initially extremely difficult and admittedly a little bit humbling to be put in such a foreign environment. There was no computer in front of me, no excel sheet to work off of, no single project to work on for the day, and no regularity. Instead, there were animals in the picture that required daily care and while my daily duties were routine in the sense that the same tasks were expected of me each and every day, they were never predictable. Animal rehabilitation is not a simple, black- and- white process. There are many factors and intricacies involved that one would normally not even consider. It is both capital and labor intensive and it requires extreme dedication from its workers and volunteers, not to mention extreme adaptability and flexibility. Above all that, there is an emotional aspect involved that cannot be understated after all, you are working with these animals on a daily basis that it is almost impossible not to

5 development an attachment towards. This inevitable emotional investment can take a toll on you and admittedly there were times throughout my internship that I would get home from work and just be incredibly exhausted. Nonetheless, the above- mentioned challenges actually began to become things that learned to appreciate. The lack of routine actually began to be something I embraced. My lack of knowledge became an opportunity area for me to learn and improve. There were actually times throughout the summer when I would have to sit back and look at how far I had come and realize just how much I had learned. For example, one of the most difficult challenges for me at this internship initially was working with needles. I had never held a needle in my life before and suddenly I was being asked to poke a seal with one to administer a subcutaneous injection. I will have to admit that it did take me quite a long time to be comfortable with this task but I am proud of myself that I am now able to do it without flinching and actually with ease. Lessons Learned While I learned many things this summer, one of the most important takeaways for me was the fact that I really enjoyed the hands- on and physical work that is demanded in this type of field. At the beginning of this internship, there was part of me that missed working on a computer. I am normally a person who quite enjoys writing reports, working on excel sheets and databases, and doing various

6 computer- related tasks so I was quite surprised when I realized that I was not missing working on a computer at all. In an ideal world, I would like to be working at a job that allows for both office and fieldwork and this internship was key in finding this discovery. Furthermore, I learned that animal rehabilitation is much more complicated than one would normally think and like most things, the best way of understanding animal rehabilitation is to probably to work directly in it. There are many things that I overlooked or did even not even consider before working here and even now, after my time working within a rehab Centre, I still don t think I know everything that goes on. Finally, this internship cemented the fact that there are other things to a job than making money. Although I was working long- hours and shift- work unpaid for 14 weeks, it was a very rare occasion when I actually did not want to go to work in the morning. The intrinsic satisfaction that I obtained through working with animals on a daily basis cannot be understated. Reflections on Sustainable Development It goes without saying that the most commonly used definition of Sustainable Development comes from the Brundtland Commission s report Our Common

7 Future : "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (1987). However, it could be argued that perhaps this definition places too much emphasis on social and economic problems and does not fully address the third pillar of sustainable development the environment. The protection of natural resources and environment is an extremely important and crucial component of sustainable development and included within this component is animal conservation. To understand animal conservation, it is imperative that we understand the interrelationships between humans, animals, and natural processes. In Chapter 6 of Our Common Future, species conservation is addressed. Species conservation is not only justified in economic terms. Aesthetic, ethical, cultural, and scientific considerations provide ample grounds for conservation. For those who demand an accounting, the economic values inherent in the genetic materials of species are alone enough to justify species preservation. (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). The goal of the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre (MMR) and the Vancouver Aquarium is to perform a public service to assist marine mammals that may be in peril due to habitat destruction and environmental damage caused by humans. We also focus on educating the public on how to properly respond to apparently stranded or diseased marine mammals. These stranding s could be caused by a variety of natural (i.e.

8 disease, neurotoxins, etc.) or human- related (entanglement, harassment, contaminants, etc.) factors. A few examples of such cases from this summer include a California Sea Lion who had swallowed a fishhook with a Flasher rig attached to it, a harbor seal pup that had been hit by a boat, or a baby harbor porpoise that had been abandoned by its mother. The direct action efforts in conservation from MMR, specifically towards harbor seals, has not been positively received by everyone, especially fishermen who claim that the center creates bad business from them because we are helping the seal population that eats their fish. This is an interesting question for sustainable development, as one must consider the sustenance of the fishermen as well. However, like most things in our natural world problems are not as black and white as that and that is one of the most important things that sustainable development aims to address interconnectedness. On that note, I think this internship was an extremely important step for me in terms of my Masters program as it allowed me to further expand my interdisciplinary base. While my job description may a first glance appear to be quite unrelated to Sustainable Development, it is important to recognize that conservation does not just happen there are always people in the background doing the grunt work. This internship was extremely important in helping me understand how exactly animal rehabilitation plays a role in animal conservation

9 and as I mentioned before, it was integral in helping me fully understand how rehabilitation works. Finally, I find it interesting that after each and every project and work experience I have had in the past few years I always have the same answer when I am asked for the best solution or course of action. This answer is naturally education. There were several incidents this summer that were a bit hard to hear as they were potential situations that could have been completely avoided had the proper education been given. One of the very first baby seal pups that had come into the center (his name was Bok Choy) had been thrown into the water repeatedly by a lady at the beach and by the time we had rescued him he was in very rough shape. A few days later he died, likely from some sort of emotional or head trauma. Another seal pup had been repeatedly kicked by some school children and it is things like this that are hard to hear. Luckily the Vancouver Aquarium has been working extremely hard in this regard and hopefully we will see some positive changes in the future. Works Cited Vancouver Aquarium. (2011). Vancouver Aquarium. Retrieved Nov 22, 2011, from Vancouver Aquarium: World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Chapter from Our Common Future.