![]() Alissa Deming said her staff is also treating mostly females who show signs of just having given birth and are lactating. Typically, marine mammal rescue centers start seeing pups in trouble in November, but the toxin could mean even earlier arrivals.Īt the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, Dr. So, the timing of the bloom couldn’t be worse and experts don’t know what it could mean for the new pups and how many future strandings can be expected. Sea lion pups typically are born on Channel Island rookeries between June 15 and July 15 each year. “Most of the animals are female sea lions that are either pregnant or just gave birth,” Warner said. Warner said the dire situation is costing the center $250,000 it didn’t have budgeted. The lethargic animals might appear more approachable on the beach, but also pose a greater bite risk to people and their pets. The Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles put out a notice on Monday warning beachgoers to stay away from stranded animals, saying they should call the center if they see an animal exhibiting neurological symptoms such as side-to-side head movement or their heads extended back for a long time. Ruth Dover, co-founder and managing director of the Channel Islands center, said just between June 8 and 14, there were more than 1,000 reports of sick or dead animals, including more than 100 dolphins. The toxins can cause seizures and severe brain inflammation and often leads to death by causing irreversible brain damage. ![]() The impacted animals – mostly sea lions and dolphins, but also whales and other marine mammals – are feeding on smaller fish, such as squid, sardines and anchovies, that have eat the poisonous plankton. The massive bloom produced by a species of marine plankton fueled with a toxin called domoic acid has struck the hardest off Santa Barbara and Ventura counties – staff at the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute have struggled to keep up, officials said Monday – but affected animals have been seen as far south as Los Angeles and Orange County. Animals began washing up along the coastline earlier this month in alarming numbers. A toxic algae bloom that has crept down the coast of California from San Luis Obispo County has been sickening and killing hundreds of sea lions and dolphins.
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