Sea lion moms and pups struggling to survive
Right now is the time of the year when harbor seals start having their babies.
“Oh gosh for some of the animals at this point it’s just too late,” said Marg Brigadier, Bay Net/Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary volunteer.
Bay Net, a volunteer group of naturalists, are keeping a watchful eye on them at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove.
They say the start of the season has been rough.
“Some of them have been way too thin to have a healthy birth and have enough milk to feed it,” said Bay Net volunteer Thom Akeman.
So far this season 13 pups have been born but none of them have survived.
Many seals are underweight and starving, suffering from a shortage of food in the Pacific Ocean.
“This part of the ocean, the food, the basic nutrition is made in a cold water in the deep,” said Akeman.
The warmer temperatures of El Nino are keeping the food in the colder waters, preventing it from rising to the surface.
Another problem: sardines and other fish eaten by the seals are migrating to colder waters to escape the El Nino heat.
“When they get extremely thin they’re open to all sorts of illnesses and infections,” said Brigadier. “They’re living animals that deserve a chance.”
While we may not have control over Mother Nature, scientists say we can control how we treat the harbor seals by keeping a safe distance and not disturbing them while they rest, so they have the energy to look for food.
“The kayaks and paddleboards need to be more cognizant of what they’re doing,” said Brigadier. “I’ve seen children throwing rocks over the fence, obviously that’s a no no.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Sea lion moms and pups are fighting for their lives this birthing season.
The evidence of that struggle is visible atHopkins Marine Station Beach in Pacific Grove.
The group Harbor Seals of Pacific Grove has been documenting the unusually high rate of dying pups on Facebook.
KION’s Maya Holmes will have more on this story, including what experts believe is the cause Thursday night.
