10/01/06

LEWES-  The first-ever open house at Lewes' MERR Institute gave folks a peek into what MERR volunteers do.

The institute just set up shop two years ago to help rescue and respond to stranded marine mammals along the Delaware coast. Before this institute, stranded animals were driven up to six hours away for help.

They would be dehydrated going into shock and so that would ultimately be what killed them," said Suzanne Thurman.

Now about 80 percent of the rescued animals survive. Animals they can't save are used for research.

Just this year, volunteers responded to several whales that washed ashore. A 70,000 pound fin whale was beached in Delaware.  It took crews three days, three tractors and a tow rope to move the whale for burial.Crews did the same for a rare northern bottlenose whale found along the coast two months ago. Crews spent about two weeks looking for its lost calf.

MERR volunteers hope learning more about these rare animals will inspire people to protect them in the wild. You can find out more by visiting their website at http://merrinstitute.org.