Hat Tags for the Marine Mammal Center
2019-now
Animal care experts at the Marine Mammal Center need to quickly identify individual patients in order to administer the right nutrition and medications. During the hospital's busy season there can be upwards of 100 patients onsite at once. This is why they use hat tags. Each tag has a unique two-letter ID and is placed on top of the patients head with animal-safe glue.
Animal care experts at the Marine Mammal Center need to quickly identify individual patients in order to administer the right nutrition and medications. During the hospital's busy season there can be upwards of 100 patients onsite at once. This is why they use hat tags. Each tag has a unique two-letter ID and is placed on top of the patients head with animal-safe glue.
“The new designs are a big hit with staff and volunteers as they’re so much easier to read at a distance, ” says Animal Husbandry Manager Sophie Guarasci.
Before my involvement the MMC was using bulky plastic tags, and hand-carved and painted wood tags. I worked with MMC to redesign the hat tag and experimented with several different designs using a 3D printer. Some aspects we focused on were visibility and clarity of the ID, comfort of the animal and environmental health. I even attached one of the tags to an elephant seal myself so that I could better understand the tagging process. Dr. Chip Breitenkamp (advanced material scientist) sourced a special type of glue that is waterproof, dries very quickly and is animal-safe. The new tag and glue turned out to be a hit and have been used since 2019. A few times a year I'll print 30-60 tags with new IDs for MMC before their busy seasons begin.
For more information watch the video below, or read this wonderful article about hat tags from MMC.
I also strongly urge you to visit the Marine Mammal Center or donate so they can help save more lives.
For more information watch the video below, or read this wonderful article about hat tags from MMC.
I also strongly urge you to visit the Marine Mammal Center or donate so they can help save more lives.