Variety is the Disturbance of Life

This veteran of marine mammal stranding has been picking animals off New Jersey beaches and bays for years. Now he's seeing animals that he's rarely if ever seen.

He knows

He is on the front lines of changes caused by rapid heating of the planet -- heat affects currents, currents influence marine mammals. He's like the canary in the coal mine for oceans and he's singing.

An excerpt:

Question: What is the biggest issue facing the Marine Mammal Stranding Center today? 

Bob Schoelkopf: The biggest issue is the increase in the number of animals and types of animals we see coming onto the beaches in recent years.

There is clearly some change in the climate that is moving the currents and bringing various animals we haven't seen before and an abundance of them we haven't seen before. We've never seen so many harp seals in one year, for example. Manatees were never seen this far north before, and now they are.

Read his full interview in Philly.com here.

Image from Philly.com.