California sea lions – mainly pups – are turning up stranded and starved on Southern California beaches in record numbers this year, leaving experts worried that this winter may be the worst season ever documented for the marine mammals.
The precise cause is not clear, but scientists believe the sea lions are suffering from a scarcity of natural prey that forces nursing mothers to venture farther out to sea for food, leaving their young behind for longer periods of time.
Experts theorize that this winter's mild El Nino effect, which alters ocean currents and temperatures, may be compounding the shortage of fish that sea lions rely on for food, according to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.
That group's pup rescues for the month are already running 20 percent above the same period in 2013, when the National Marine Fisheries Service declared an "unusual mortality event" in which five times the normal number of pups were in need of assistance.
While the majority of the stranded animals this year are less than 1 year old, emaciated adults are also turning up.
Officials at SeaWorld in San Diego and the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro also reported a dramatic increase in the number of sea lions they are rescuing and rehabilitating.
PHOTO: Rescued California sea lion pups rest in their holding pen at Sea World San Diego in San Diego, California January 28, 2015.
CREDIT: REUTERS/Mike Blake.
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