Marine Mammal Care Center

Ruby Kumagai wears rubber waders, boots and gloves to hose down a pen at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. Each year the nonprofit cares for more than 300 sick, injured and stranded seals and sea lions recovered from Los Angeles County beaches. “The first time I came here I couldn’t believe all the barking, and the smell of fish was insane,” she said. “But then this cute ‘ellie’ — an elephant seal pup — made eye contact with me, like it wanted my help. I had to stay.”

A part-time employee at L.A. Recreation and Parks, Kumagai has been an animal-care volunteer here since 2013. She works three four-hour shifts a week. In addition to cleaning sea-mammal enclosures, her tasks include doing laundry; thawing, sorting and tossing fish to adult animals; and tube-feeding nutritious fish smoothies to pups. “The pups come in here so sickly and skinny, but after a few weeks they learn to eat fish on their own and they fatten up,” she said. “I feel so happy when they’re healthy enough to be released back into the ocean.”

The center welcomes volunteer applications year-round but has the greatest need for volunteers in spring and summer, when more stranded seal and sea-lion pups wind up being rescued. Orientations are held for new volunteers as needed.

Executive director Jeff Cozad acknowledges that some of their volunteers don’t like handling fish and getting wet. “We’re fine with that,” he said. “Volunteers are vital to our success, including those who work in the gift shop and talk to visitors.”

Info: Marine Mammal Care Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro; mmccla.org