This post has three parts:
-- Sherman the Sea-Sick Sea Lion
-- The New Russian Blue
-- Jane Goodall's Heroes

PART 1
Sherman

Eve and I had the good fortune to spend the weekend of September 19-21 at a Ventura beach house with a group of gourmands and libertines that date back to Eve's earliest years in a part of Eden called Key Biscayne.

However, when we arrived at this idyllic location (chilly and foggy, whereas, in our part of Paradise, it would reach close to 100 degrees during the same period), there was a sea lion who, for all intents and purposes, lay dying on the rocks right in front of the beach house.

The sea lion, whom I dubbed Sherman, was moving his head and flippers listlessly on occasion, and our hosts said he had been there since noon the previous day. Many calls had been placed to marine mammal rescue, to no avail. Finally, putting their heads together, our hosts came up with another number to call, and success!

Late in the afternoon, a man and a woman in their 50s arrived to assess Sherman's situation. They could tell that he was two-years-old and said that sometimes, after a big meal, sea lions would come out of the water and lay on the rocks for a 24-hour period digesting, conserving energy for their return to the ocean.

The man -- big and Teutonic with a reddish-gray beard, a floppy camouflage hat, boots, cargo shorts and a T-shirt that said, "September 19 Coastal Clean-Up Day" -- went back to his utility van, got a big net and great Dane-sized kennel. The woman hardly spoke and had a very dour expression. She slipped plastic ties into the sides of kennel to secure the top and the bottom halves. The man, whom I'll call Gunther, made an initial attempt to catch Sherman. The sea lion, who up to that point had done nothing but slightly stir, slid swiftly into a crevice.

Gunther produced a pole with a noose on the end, which he used to gently prod the poor animal from his hiding place. Sherman panicked, tried to make a flat-flippered run for it, but instead of loping into the surf, where he would be harassed no more, he scampered two houses up the beach, where a trio of majestic German shepherds paced and bayed on a parapet above him, defending the perimeter that they'd clearly been trained never to cross. The effort and the commotion taxed what little energy remained to Sherman, and he laid his head in exhaustion on a rock at the foot of the parapet.

Gunther cautiously approached the sea lion with his net.
It was low tide, thank goodness, because the beach disappeared at high tide. With surprising dexterity, Gunther dropped the net over Sherman, who barked and wailed mournfully, then dropped the sea-sick sea lion into the kennel. Sherman struggled for a moment only, but then several of us hauled the kennel off the beach, up some stairs, through a narrow alley between beach bungalows, and out the back to the waiting wildlife ambulance.

Sherman became docile, as if aware that he was going to get help. Gunther and the woman took Sherman to a vet facility where he would get antibiotics and be released in a couple of weeks.

PART II
The New Russian Blue

The day we got back from our adventures in Ventura, we headed over to Adams Hill in Glendale where a friend of a friend of Eve's had rescued 15 cats living in an abandoned house. Among them was this sweet kitty (left), whom we've named Violet, or Violetta when we're feeling saucy. There was an instant bond. She's acclimating herself to Eden, and we're just waiting until she and our jaguar kitty, Henry (below, right), make friends.

Adams Hill has a fascinating history: once it was part of the original Rancho de los Verdugos Spanish land grant, then it was part of the Santa Eulalia Ranch, which became Tropico then Acacia Hills. I have no idea, however, who "Adams" was. Interesting tidbit: Adams Hill was the home of the Snowbird Ice Cream store run by a guy named Irv Robbins. Eventually Irv teamed up with his brother-in-law, Burt Baskin, and their partnership became the celebrated Baskin & Robbins/31 Flavors franchise. Click on the Baskin & Robbins link to hear a very incongruous "ice cream cake" rap.


PART III
Heroes

Our first night with Violet we watched an amazing show called "Jane Goodall's Heroes." During the course of the show, you meet five people working to save endangered animals in all kinds of different ways. These extraordinary individuals are listed below. The one that grabbed my attention the most was George Archibald, founder of the International Crane Foundation. There are no clips from the "Heroes" show available, so I dug up this one about the work that George did with whooping cranes. It shows extraordinary dedication. Check it out!

WASHO SHADOWHAWK is a 15-year-old Native American boy from Oregon who is involved with a local Roots and Shoots program that provides enrichment to monkeys at a primate research center. Find out more about Washo Shadohawk.

SAMUEL HUNG lives in Hong Kong and has devoted his life to studying and helping the endangered Chinese white dolphins. Find out more about Samuel Hung.

GEORGE ARCHIBALD is the co-founder of the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. When he began the International Crane Foundation, there were only 66 pairs of whooping cranes left in the world; now there are over 350! Find out more about George Archibald.

TOM MANGELSEN a renowned wildlife photographer, recently founded the Cougar Fund. The Cougar Fund strives to protect the cougar throughout the Americas and to educate the public on the value of cougars in nature. Find out more about Tom Mangelsen.

JUAN CARLOS ANTEZANA, who runs the Inti Wara Yassi sanctuary for street children in Bolivia, rehabilitates Amazonian wildlife such as pumas, jaguars and monkeys. Find out more about Juan Carlos Antezana.