PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
1201 3rd St Corpus Christi, TX 78404
Inside This ISSUE
Memories of Italian Excursions Past Page1
What to Do With All This Sunlight? June Testimonial Page2
Another Mistake That Can Hurt Your Case Recipe of the Month and Memes Page3
Gimpy, the Hero of San Pedro Page4
An Elephant (Seal) Never Forgets Gimpy, the Hero of San Pedro
In 1995, Hugo Ryno was a volunteer at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, California. Here he met Gimpy, a sweet elephant seal who’d been brought to the center as a pup. A terrible head trauma left her partially blind and paralyzed on the left side of her body. No one expected her to last the week. To their amazement, Gimpy recovered the use of her paralyzed side, learned to swallow fish by being hand-fed by center staff and volunteers, and went through rehab so she could swim again. While her limited motor functions meant Gimpy could never return to the wild, she didn’t seem too broken up about her fate. Center staff and local news channels alike fell in love with the gentle giant, who liked nothing more than to dip her head into a shallow wading pool and blow bubbles, while Ryno had “one-way conversations with her.” One morning, Ryno entered the elephant seal pen alone to clean up after the morning feeding. He was almost finished when he slipped on a sardine and hit the ground hard. Three male elephant seals charged
toward him, ready to try out their sharp tusks on the helpless man. Suddenly, a mass of blubber stood in their path — Gimpy! Opening her mouth, Gimpy bared her own teeth, bobbing her head up and down in silent warning until the smaller seals backed off. Saving her friend from a mauling, Gimpy stayed near Ryno until he caught his breath and was able to get out of the pen.
“To me, she became a hero seal that day,” Ryno says of his friend. Shortly after the rescue, Gimpy would go on to her permanent home at a zoological facility in Portugal. Meanwhile, Ryno continued his work as a volunteer, paying back his friend by caring for other marine wildlife in need.
4
844.567.6399
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker