--- title: Photos: Record Number of Starving Sea Lions in California description: The Marine Mammal Center, currently dealing with a record number of starving sea lion pups, has been caring for animals for nearly 40 years canonical: https://time.com/96206/marine-mammal-center-starving-sea-lion-pups/ author: TIME Photo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-13T16:01:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:08:24.700Z article:section: Science og:title: Photos: Insides a Hospital for California's Stranded Seals and Sea Lions og:description: The Marine Mammal Center, currently dealing with a record number of starving sea lion pups, has been caring for animals for nearly 40 years. Photos by Corey Arnold for TIME facebook.com/fishwork og:url: https://time.com/96206/marine-mammal-center-starving-sea-lion-pups/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c09abafa6d0603d/69868ef006f2c1503232ed57/140509_marinemammal_2111-e1399996639918.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Sick Baby Seals Marine Mammal Center og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Photos: Insides a Hospital for California's Stranded Seals and Sea Lions twitter:description: The Marine Mammal Center, currently dealing with a record number of starving sea lion pups, has been caring for animals for nearly 40 years. Photos by Corey Arnold for TIME facebook.com/fishwork twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c09abafa6d0603d/69868ef006f2c1503232ed57/140509_marinemammal_2111-e1399996639918.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Photos: Inside a Hospital for California's Stranded Seals and Sea Lions by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo May 13, 2014 4:01 PM UTC  A malnourished elephant seal pup looks outside a pen at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. A malnourished elephant seal pup looks outside a pen at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014.Corey Arnold for TIME by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo May 13, 2014 4:01 PM UTC The Marine Mammal Center, currently dealing with a record number of starving sea lion pups, has been caring for stranded sea animals since volunteers started the animal hospital with kiddie pools nearly 40 years ago  A California sea lion sits on the edge of a pool at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  California sea lions swim and sit out in the sun while visitors look on at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Harbor seal pups wear plastic identification tags that help caregivers tell them apart at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Herring breakfasts are organized and labeled for each seal and sea lion at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A harbor seal pup wears a plastic "hat tag," used to identify individual animals at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A malnourished elephant seal pup looks outside a pen at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Volunteers tube-feed a malnourished harbor seal pup at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A volunteer restrains an elephant seal pup while the animal is fed through a tube at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A shaved patch on the back of a harbor seal shows where blood was drawn during an admit exam at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Seals and sea lions released back into their natural habitat are added to annual graduation posters at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif., May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Researchers perform a necropsy on a California sea lion that died of malnutrition at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Dr. Shawn Johnson, Director of Veterinary Science, listens to the lungs of a young sea lion under anesthesia at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A California sea lion pup undergoes surgery for a lymph node abscess at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Students on a field trip learn what to do if they find a stranded seal on the beach at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Siobhan Rickert, 18, has been a volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center for four years She is one of a dedicated network of 1,100 volunteers who help run the facility in Marin County, Calif., May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  An elephant seal pup lies in an enclosure at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  The Marine Mammal Center sits where the U.S. military once had a missile site outside San Francisco, in the Marin Headlands, Calif., May 9, 2014. 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