During the breeding season, the center sees a lot of underweight, malnourished elephant seal pups, many of which are still too young to fend for themselves or even swim. Sometimes, they also see elephant seals with parasites or traumatic injuries, such as dog bites or blunt force trauma from boat propellers.

For the last few years, the Marine Mammal Center has been testing any patients with bird-flu-like symptoms, which include respiratory and neurological problems, for the virus.