Laurie Gage

Dr. Laurie Gage recently retired after serving over 20 years as the Field Specialist for Big Cats and Marine Mammals for USDA APHIS Animal Care. She has also assisted the National Marine Fisheries Service with the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program and authored the 2009 Standards for Rehabilitation Facilities. Laurie is a lecturer at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and a consultant for the Veterinary Information Network. Before working for the USDA, Laurie was the Director of Veterinary Services for Six Flags Marine World for 23 years and the Director of Veterinary Services for The Marine Mammal Center in Marin, California, for 14 years. She was also a consulting veterinarian for the Oregon Tiger Sanctuary, Safari World in Bangkok, Thailand, and the Coyote Point Museum. Laurie was a staff veterinarian for the Los Angeles Zoo.

Laurie has edited three books and authored numerous book chapters and scientific papers about marine mammals and other zoological species. She has been a strong advocate for marine mammal welfare. Dr. Gage has treated thousands of marine mammals in her career, and her most prominent and most famous marine mammal patient was Humphrey, the humpback whale who swam up into the Sacramento Delta in 1985 and then stranded and was rescued by a team from the Marine Mammal Center in 1990. Laurie also helped to rescue a pod of killer whales trapped in Barnes Lake, Alaska, in 1994. Laurie grew up surfing and sailing in Newport Beach, California, and loves everything about the ocean and its incredible resident creatures. Laurie joined the IOFF as a Screening Committee member in Fall 2024.