Wild pacific rescue

Running Time: 3 x 50 mins
Year: 2021

synopsis

Wild Pacific Rescue is a dramatic and emotional wildlife series that takes viewers on an exciting adventure into the wild, mountain-ringed seas of the Pacific Northwest, and behind the scenes at the world-class Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Rescue Centre. We are embedded with world-renowned marine mammal veterinarian, “Dr. Marty” Haulena and the young, dedicated animal care specialists as they rescue, rehabilitate, and release some of the most fascinating animals on the planet.

Dr. Marty leads a highly skilled and fiercely loyal team of veterinarians and vet technologists. Their mission is to head out into the wild to find and treat some of the most iconic and vulnerable creatures in the sea. They tend to sick, injured or distressed marine mammals and other aquatic species -- from pint-sized sea otter pups to 1500 pound sea lions, and everything in between. Their motto? “Every animal counts.” Dr. Marty’s team is like a family, bound together by their shared responsibility for the rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals, and for the ongoing care of thousands of creatures living at the Vancouver Aquarium.

The stakes are high and the drama is real. Treating a giant California sea lion shot by a crossbow bolt, rescuing a lost and hypothermic sea turtle 2000 miles from its tropical home, rushing a critically ill sea otter into triage -- these are some of the typical challenges faced by the rescue team. The animals are wild and unpredictable, the weather and seas are constantly changing. The work is challenging, often dangerous, but always rewarding. Saving animals and keeping them wild, that’s the mission of the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.

Credits

Series Creator Andrew Munger
Directed by Mike Sheehan
Showrunner Mike Sheehan
Producers Mike Sheehan, Andrew Munger, Stephen Paniccia
Executive Producers Peter Raymont, Steve Ord, James Manfull
Supervising Producer Susan McGrath
Director of Photography Alastair Meux
Editors Branko Vasovik, Christophen Malanchen, Vitold Vidic, Ian Sit
Composer and Music Supervisor Alex Khaskin
Narrated by Tish Iceton

Featuring Dr. Martin Haulena, Lindsaye Akhurst, Emily Johnson,
Sion Cahoon of the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre

A White Pine Pictures Production
In Association with Blue Ant Media’s Cottage Life and Love Nature
Produced with the participation of Canada Media Fund with the assistance of The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, Ontario Creates

MEET THE TEAM

Dr. Martin Haulena, DVM, MSc, Dipl. ACZM

Staff Veterinarian

Dr. Martin Haulena graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1993 and completed a Master's degree in pathobiology from the University of Guelph in 1999. Dr. Haulena was the Staff Veterinarian at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA for nine years and is currently Staff Veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium. His special interests are in the medical management of aquatic animals—particularly marine mammals—with emphasis on innovative diagnostic methods such as MRIs, endoscopy and sonography, developing safe anesthetic protocols and improving surgical techniques.

Lindsaye Akhurst

Rescue Centre Manager

Lindsaye Akhurst is the Manager of the Vancouver Aquarium's Marine Mammal Rescue Centre and has been working at the Rescue Centre since 2006. Lindsaye is a registered Veterinary Technologist, President of the Oiled Wildlife Society of B.C. and a member of the Wildlife Rehabilitators network of British Columbia. Lindsaye possesses finely tuned rehabilitation skills specifically when working with seals, sea lions, porpoises, sea turtles, and sea otters.

Sion Cahoon

Senior Veterinary Technologist

Sion graduated from Thompson Rivers University, and has been working as a RVT for the past 20 years. Her experiences have varied, working in small animal private practice, shelter medicine, education, and aquarium and wildlife medicine. Sion grew up on Vancouver island and has been with the aquarium for the past 8 years.

Emily Johnson

Rescue Centre Assistant Manager

Emily Johnson is originally from Brantford, Ontario. She graduated from the Veterinary Technologist program at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown College in 1999. She worked in many different areas of veterinary medicine before her first summer at the Rescue Centre in 2010. Falling in love with Vancouver and with the Rescue Centre, she moved across the country and has called BC home since 2011.