FREE Lecture on Dolphins, Turtles & More. This Saturday in Riverhead!

The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation is offering a lecture series for the public interested in learning about marine mammals and sea turtles. They will also be discussing the current mid-atlantic bottlenose unusual mortality event (UME) that is currently occurring in dolphins in northeast Atlantic coastal waters.

The lecture is this Saturday, February 1st at 3:00 p.m. at The Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center on East Main Street in Riverhead.

This is the UME that killed hundreds of animals this past summer..... including animals in OUR local waters and along the Atlantic coastlines of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

It is ongoing, with over 1100 dolphins stranded so far, including 35  strandings on New York beaches! Most were dead and decomposed, and live animals could not be saved,  This is bad news for these animals.... and you have to wonder what is going on in our oceans to cause such an event.

The deaths are believed to be caused by a morbillivirus, similar to measles in humans and distemper in canines. Brucella sp. bacteria has also been identified in some of the animals, and researchers are still working to find more answers.

If you spot a dolphin or other marine animal or sea turtle, do not approach or touch the animal. Do not allow your pets to contact the animal either. If you  see a stranded marine animal, dead or alive, in the water or on the shore, please call The Riverhead Foundation's 24 hour stranding hotline, 631-369-9829. 

The Riverhead Foundation is New York's ONLY marine mammal and sea turtle stranding network participant. Even if the animal appears OK, give them a call so they can decide if the animal needs assistance.

The lecture is a great opportunity to learn about the marine mammals and sea turtles that are found in area waters. This is OUR backyard and educating yourself on these animals can potentially save their lives.

It's also a great thing to do on a cold February day! Maybe you can make a day of it and visit The Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center as well??

Everyone is invited to attend this free lecture, but reservations are required due to limited space.

Please reserve your space by calling (631) 369-9840.

You can also email aharrington@riverheadfoundation.org with any questions.

You can also watch this cute harbor seal- the first of 2014 to be rescued and in rehabilitation at the hospital facility real time by clicking here.

Click here for the Newsday article about his rescue.

Breaking News!!

THE JOURNEY OF NOODLE AND ROXANNE WILL AIR IN TWO EPISODES

Tune in this Saturday, February 1st at 11:30 a.m. as ABC's Sea Rescue features the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation's Rescue Team and the heartwarming story of Noodle.

Learn more about these animals, and how you can help.

Follow Noodle's incredible adventure from the marshes of Maine to the Riverhead Foundation's Marine Mammal Rescue Pool at the Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center. His story is sue to inspire you as it is told through first-hand accounts and remarkable footage. Celebrate his release to the wild and learn more about the Riverhead Foundation's Rescue Program.

Roxanne, the Risso's dolphin, will be featured Saturday, February 8, 2014. Sea Rescue will take viewers on her journey from the Long Island waters, where she was rescued in early summer of 2013, through her months of rehabilitation at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation facility. The show will then bring you aboard the vessel and along with the team for her exciting release offshore.

Please check the following link for your local television listings: http://www.littonweekendadventure.com/sea-rescue-tv-schedule/. To learn more about Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation's Rescue Program, visit www.riverheadfoundation.org.      

ABOUT THE RESCUE PROGRAM: The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation operates the New York State Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Program, and is the only authorized organization of its kind in the State of New York. Since the program's inception in 1996, the team has responded to over 4,000 marine mammals and sea turtles off of the beaches and shores of New York State. Trained volunteers and staff of the Foundation, through its New York State Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Program, provide assistance and care to over 150 animals a year, many of which are successfully returned to their ocean home.