© Pacific Marine Mammal Center
This year, an unusually high number of sea lion pups have stranded on southern California's shores, overwhelming marine mammal rehab centers.
This year, an unusually high number of sea lion pups have stranded on southern California's shores, overwhelming marine mammal rehab centers.
The stranded sea lions - mostly pups born last summer - are typically turning up alive, but severely emaciated, some weighing less than 20 pounds (9 kg) when they should be well over 50 pounds (22 kg), marine officials say.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared an "unusual mortality event" last month in light of the spike in strandings. Since the beginning of the year, 1,293 sea lions have washed ashore from San Diego County to Santa Barbara County.
That's more than five times higher than the region's historical average of 236, averaged from the same period of time (January through April) from 2008 to 2012, said Sarah Wilkin, NOAA's marine mammal stranding coordinator for California.
The problem is most pronounced in Los Angeles County, where 459 strandings have been reported this year as of April 14. During the same period last year, 60 strandings were reported.
