A Sea Lion Crisis is Taking Place on the Coast of California

The coastal areas of California are experiencing a wildlife crisis this spring, as hundreds of young sea lion pups are coming ashore, exhausted, underweight, and starving. Southern California is bearing the brunt of the crisis, with an increased number of strandings being reported in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties. Marine mammal rescue hospitals in the area, including the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center, and the Fort MacArthur Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, are overwhelmed with hundreds of sea lion pups as they try to respond to the crisis.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries refers to the situation as an Unusual Mortality Event (UME), which they describe as "a stranding event that is unexpected, involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population, and demands immediate response." Most of the distressed pups are six to eight months old, emaciated, weak, and dehydrated. Experts are not sure what is causing the crisis, but are looking at environmental factors such as pollution, disease outbreak, and algae blooms. Lack of available food is an obvious factor, with diminished supplies of anchovies and sardines playing a possible role.

The Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands has stepped in to help out, and dozens of patients have been transferred to this Northern California facility. Like its counterparts in Southern California, The Marine Mammal Center is a rescue hospital which treats sick and injured animals, nursing them back to health, with the goal of eventually releasing them back to their natural habitat in the ocean. I have been a volunteer at The Marine Mammal Center for more than three years, working on the Friday Night Crew to help feed the animals, clean their pens and pools, and prepare large quantities of formula and fish meals.  In those three years, I have never seen so many animals onsite at one time. The sea lion crisis is occurring right at the height of elephant seal pupping season and the beginning of harbor seal pupping season, creating a perfect storm for the number of patients. We are overwhelmed.

My fellow Friday Night Crew volunteer Barbara Hackstaff Lutes had the opportunity to help out at one of the marine mammal rescue facilities in Southern California. She spent a day at the Fort MacArthur Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, near the port of Los Angeles. This rescue hospital has brought in more than 400 sea lion pups since January and is ground zero for the crisis. Barbara’s work there is a good example of the cooperation that exists between the various marine mammal rescue hospitals up and down the coast. She had a lot of great stories to tell, comparing the practices, protocols, and quality of treatment of the animals. "Puts the first class facility we have in Sausalito in perspective" Barbara said. "This facility has one large pool and concrete pens." We here in Northern California have the good fortune to work in a modern, state-of-the-art rescue hospital that is highly regarded throughout the world.

When an animal in distress is reported to The Marine Mammal Center, the person who finds that animal gets the honor of giving it a name. The name helps to easily identify the animal during its treatment, so that a specific animal can be given the proper medicine, shots, and amount of fish. Many of the names are creative and whimsical, such as “Squawksalot” and “Mrs. Whiskers.” With the recent influx of sea lions however, it seems that creativity has been sacrificed in the face of such overwhelming numbers. Judging by some of the recent names, it appears someone may have gone down the inventory list for an office supply store, providing names such as "Clipboard," "Eraser," "Binder," "Notebook," "Calculator," "Desk," and "Sharp Scissors." Another group of sea lions appear to have been named from a list of college courses, with names like "Geography", "Physics," "Zoology," "Statistics," "Precalculus," and "Sociology."

The number of patients rescued by The Marine Mammal Center is an all time record for this time of year. Some of them have already been treated and released, a good sign that our work is having a positive effect. With so many patients currently onsite (56 sea lions, 76 elephant seals, 2 northern fur seals, and 30 harbor seals), there will likely be a lot of releases in the upcoming weeks. Attending a release is one of the most gratifying experiences for a volunteer, after feeding and caring for an animal, to see it return to its natural habitat. Many releases take place right at Rodeo Beach, just down the hill from The Marine Mammal Center, while other animals are released at Chimney Rock, near Point Reyes, or the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve near Moss Beach.

I recently had the opportunity to view large numbers of sea lions in the wild. I was working with Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge on a native plant restoration project on Año Nuevo Island, where both Steller and California sea lions congregate on the windswept and isolated promontories of the island. It was amazing to see them in their natural habitat, healthy and gregarious, piled up on top of each other and barking incessantly. I had to wonder what it is that compels them to make so much noise – it seems like they are singing a never ending chorus to the winds.

The center of Año Nuevo Island is fenced off to protect auklet burrows, and this is the area where native plants are being reintroduced. Last year, salt grass, maritime goldfields, and lizardtail were planted in this area, helping to stabilize the soil around the auklet burrows. Our job this spring was to remove malva, an invasive weed that was quickly crowding out the newly established natives. On my first trip to the island, we carried our tools up from the landing site to the protected area, but forgot to close the gate. An open gate is like a cordial invitation to a sea lion, and sure enough, shortly after we started working, we noticed we had an intruder at the gate. A large sea lion sat there for a minute and watched us, probably wondering what we were doing on his island. Then he sauntered across the malva-covered field in the center of the island, making his way to the protective fence. We opened another gate there and he walked right through, joining the hundreds of other sea lions that were piled high at the far end of the island.

The California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) has a range that stretches along the west coast of North America, from southern British Columbia down to central Mexico, south of the tip of the Baja California peninsula. It is not an endangered species, and in recent years its numbers have been increasing about 6% annually. The current population is estimated to be around 300,000. The Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), also known as the northern sea lion, is the largest of all sea lion species in the world. It ranges across the North Pacific, from the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, east over the Bering Sea to Alaska, and down the west coast to central California. There used to be breeding colonies of Steller sea lions as far south as the Channel Islands, but since the 1980s, Año Nuevo Island has been their southernmost breeding ground. This endangered species has a declining population, estimated to be around 40,000. Only about 500 of these are in California.

The current sea lion crisis on the coast of California provides a unique opportunity for The Marine Mammal Center to study and learn more about ocean health, climate change, and other factors that affect the wildlife of our shores. This is why our help is more valuable than ever. Because of the large numbers of patients being treated now, the needs of a nonprofit organization that is funded largely through donations are greatly increased. More fish needs to be bought to feed the animals, more medicine and supplies are needed, and more volunteers are needed to staff the crews. There are a number of ways that the community can get involved to help alleviate this crisis, including becoming a member of The Marine Mammal Center, making a donation, "adopting a seal," volunteering, or taking part in corporate volunteer days.

The Marine Mammal Center is located at 2000 Bunker Road in the Marin Headlands, up the hill from Rodeo Beach. It is open to the public from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The Center has exhibits and two observation areas where visitors can view the patients. Admission is free and docent-led tours are available for a small fee.