LAGUNA BEACH — “Hello handsome, what are you doing?” Irene Gilgoff greeted Lumiere, a harbor seal swimming in the freshwater outdoor pool at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.
Lumiere’s response, though nonverbal, was clear. He jumped from the pool and slid to Gilgoff’s feet for some loving pats.
“You’re a good boy, Lumi,” she said, as she stroked his warm, plump back.
That scene on Thursday, Nov. 8, isn’t a common one at the center that rescues and rehabilitates marine mammals found stranded along Orange County beaches.
Typically, it’s hands-off and no talking to the recuperating animals. Volunteers and staff don’t develop relationships with the animals — doing so could lessen the animals’ survival instincts and jeopardize their chances in the wild.
But this seal is special.
On Monday, Lumiere, accompanied by Gilgoff and Michele Hunter, director of animal care at PMMC, flew aboard a private plane headed for Niagara Falls, N.Y., and from there, drove to the Aquarium of Niagara.
At the aquarium, Lumiere eventually will join three other harbor seals and two gray seals in an outdoor exhibit.
Before his departure, Lumiere was quarantined at PMMC to make sure he was medically sound for the trip. Trainers from the aquarium visited the center last week to familiarize themselves with him.
Lumiere’s recovery
Lumiere was rescued by a PMMC stranding team on April 6, 2017 when he was found starving and dehydrated at San Onofre State Beach.
Just a month old and weighing 27.2 pounds, Lumiere was taken to PMMC where he was hydrated, tube-fed and treated with medications.
After three months in rehabilitation, however, Lumiere still was not foraging or eating fish easily. His swallowing behavior was deemed abnormal. Veterinarians ran tests to see if there was a medical condition stopping him from eating. Nothing was found, so the hand- and tube-feeding continued.
Due to his condition, it became clear PMMC could not release Lumiere back into the wild. An animal can be deemed non-releasable for a variety of reason, including medical conditions, injuries, deformities and behavioral issues such as poor hunting skills.
A letter from PMMC’s veterinarian and Hunter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries stated that Lumiere was not a good candidate for release. NOAA Fisheries upholds the Marine Mammal Protection Act that allows non-releasable animals to be removed from the wild for public display at places such as aquariums and zoos.
That’s when Gilgoff stepped in. The Los Alamitos woman, a retired pediatrician, has been volunteering at PMMC for nearly seven years.
“I don’t really know when the bond started,” she said, sitting with Lumiere at the PMMC pool a few days before his departure. “I think it began when he had difficulty eating fish. He would lunge at them and miss them. It would take three to four times before he was connected. Then he started taking fish from me.”
Gilgoff said she wasn’t aware a bond had formed until she was given the OK to talk to the seal.
As she worked with him, she noticed that he would jump into the pool and zoom around in excitement after each successful endeavor. Then, he’d jump back out again and land at her feet waiting for the next challenge.
Enhanced interaction was important to keep his brain stimulated, so Gilgoff went to PetSmart looking for suitable toys.
“I didn’t want anything squeaky because it would scare him,” she said. “Eventually, I found a toy he really loved — the Chuckit!, a dog water toy.”
Gilgoff expanded her volunteer schedule to focus more on Lumiere. The harbor seal knew her voice instantly. At night, when she picked up his toys and left, he would sit and sulk.
“People said, ‘Irene, he thinks you’re his mom,’” Gilgoff said. “This is such a privilege. He formed a bond and I just followed him.”
In the year and a half Lumiere was at PMMC, staff and other volunteers helped socialize him. Lumiere was popular among groups of students who visited the center on field trips. When he would hear them arrive, he’d jump out of the pool and slide over to the fence. If he felt comfortable and Gilgoff was around, he would even do a few tricks.
When PMMC rescued another harbor seal, which they named Stardust, Lumiere was excited to see another creature of his own kind.
“He wanted so badly to get to him,” Gilgoff said. “But Stardust was going to return to the ocean, so we didn’t want him to learn any habits that Lumiere had picked up from humans.”
Arrival in Niagara Falls
After a four-and-a-half hour flight Monday, Nov. 12, Lumiere, Gilgoff and Hunter drove from the airport to the aquarium under police escort. Gilgoff had been asked to come along on the trip to reduce Lumiere’s stress level and to help with the transition.
“When they told me I could go, I had to pinch myself,” she said. “I’m honored they believed I could help him.”
But the trip proved less stressful than expected. Lumiere slept most of the flight and only became curious on take-offs and landings, including a refueling stop in Kansas.
By Tuesday, Lumiere had already become a hit with the aquarium staff and trainers. He was in a saltwater pool and had started playing with his enrichment toys and interacting with his new trainers. He also began peeking through an observation window watching for anyone passing by.
Lumiere should be ready to meet his new animal friends Wednesday, Nov. 21.
While Gilgoff said she is sad to see Lumiere go, she is thrilled with his new home.
“Part of my bond was to make him a social animal,” Gilgoff said by phone from the aquarium. “The proudest I am is how social he is. They’re just amazed what a sweet and social harbor seal he is.
“It’s also a bond I never expected to have,” she added. “Who expects to have a bond with a harbor seal?”
