Record number of sick sea lion pups washing ashore

A marine mystery is playing out along the California coast right now. Since the start of the year, hundreds of seal pups have washed ashore in bad shape. Many are emaciated and lethargic. Some have been later diagnosed with pneumonia.

From Santa Barbara to Sausalito, the nonprofit Marine Mammal Center has rescued a number of California sea lions. On a normal year, they receive about 100 animals. So far, they’ve received over 150.

Biologists say they pups are a year old or younger and are separating from their mothers sooner than usual.

“Because the pups are off the rookery earlier than normal,” Erica Donnelly-Greenan, the Monterey Bay operations manager of the Marine Mammal Center explains, “Researchers are looking into if it’s a prey issue, if maybe prey availability isn’t there for these animals or if its other oceanic conditions causing the pups to leave early so we really don’t know. “

While there are a lot of unknowns, what we do know is they’re seeing more sick pups on our local beaches.

“Seeing it up and down the entire rescue range,” Donnelly-Greenan says, “So that’s all 600 miles of our rescue range. We are seeing an uptick in the Monterey Bay area as well as San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara areas.

Vans carrying sick pups from those areas arrive at the Moss Landing facility every day. They receive feedings and medications before they are brought to the main facility in Sausalito. The hope is in several months, the pups will receive rehab then be rereleased back into the wild. Animals won’t be released until they can finish an entire fish.

It’s not just the California sea lion pups being rescued. The Marine Mammal Center is also seeing harbor seal pups and northern fur seal pups as well.

As you can imagine, the sheer number of rescues is taking a bite out of the center’s resources. They are always looking for volunteers and donations. People wanting to help can find out more information on the center’s website at www.marinemammalcenter.org.