Reports from California: 'Something is going badly wrong offshore' — Stranding centers inundated with animals (VIDEO)
ENENews
KION, March 14, 2013: Rescue groups along the Central Coast are scrambling [...] Biologists are still investigating why the malnourished sea lion pups are stranding. [...] NOAA Researchers said more than 517 emaciated sea lions have been found in Southern California and 39 have been picked up along the Central Coast. [...]
Marine Mammal Center Manager Sue Andrews: “This year they are for some reason coming out of the rookery underweight, underfed and emaciated, low energy some with already having infection.”
Wired Science, March 15, 2013 (Emphasis Added): [...] In late January, scientists surveying Channel Island sea lion rookeries reported something worrying: Pups out there were in bad shape. [...] Now, hundreds of these little animals have been admitted to rescue centers between Santa Barbara and San Diego. For a non-El Niño year, the numbers are much too high, too early. Something is going badly wrong offshore, and no one knows what it is yet. “We’re in the process of trying to understand what is actually causing this,” said Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist with the National Fisheries Service. “The stranding centers in Southern California are being inundated with animals. It hasn’t hit the northern centers yet.” As of Mar. 13, 517 pups had been admitted to five Southern California rescue centers. That total is higher than the total for some entire years, said Sarah Wilkin, regional strandings coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “And we’re only two months and a week in.” [...] The pace of admissions is still accelerating, Wilkin said, noting that both Los Angeles County and Orange County admissions doubled last week. [...] “We anticipate it will only get worse in the coming months,” Melin said. [...]
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