Northcoast Marine Mammal Center

September 5, 2015. A rescue center for injured pinnipeds to prepare them for release back into the ocean. Located on the waterfront in a public park (with disc golf course) in Crescent City, California. The facility is tiny, consisting of a very small gift shop building and six attached pools. The entire complex is half an acre or less.

I'd never heard of this place and I was just in Crescent City this summer as part of my 24 day/81 zoo trip. One could engage in a friendly debate as to whether or not the facility would count as a "zoo" and it would be a tough decision. To generalize I often find that if I ask a zoo enthusiast who has visited more than 100 zoos about a particular establishment then the response is to always count any facility with exotic animals for public viewing. I know of at least 20 people who would immediately say that Northcoast Marine Mammal Center qualifies as a "zoo" but I'm unsure myself and by comparison I find that many folks who have visited 50 or less zoos are far more strict when it comes to counting places like this center as real "zoos". It all comes down to personal opinion.

Anyway, how was the place? Was it worth more than 20 minutes of your time?

You would be very hard pressed to spend 20 minutes here. Anyone can walk by the fence (it is open to the park) and see all the enclosures at once in five minutes. If you walk in the gift shop and ask for a tour (as I did) that adds another five minutes. I thought she would take me inside the perimeter fence but no, we just walked along the outside where park visitors go and she told me what animals are currently being rehabbed.

There were two elephant seals and one harbor seal visible (though one was hiding against a wall and could only see a flipper). There were also two sea lions in the back enclosures that have material covering the fence so they are not visible.