May 6, 2014 — Hundreds of skinny, dehydrated sea lion pups have been stranded up and down the California coast over the past few months.
For a second year in a row, rehabilitation centers are filling up with the young, sick pinnipeds, many born in rookeries on the Channel Islands last June.
But while numbers are high, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday that they still fall far short of last year’s rescues.
“We’re about double of what would be considered normal,” said Justin Viezbicke, stranding coordinator for NOAA Fisheries west coast region.
By the end of April, 650 California sea lions had been admitted into rehab facilities in 2014. This time last year, strandings totaled 1,300, he said.
Many of the stranded pups are emaciated and dehydrated. Those are the same symptoms seen last year, said Sarah Wilkin, coordinator of the agency’s marine mammal health and stranding response program.
In 2013, rescue centers from San Diego to Santa Barbara were pushed to their limits after hundreds of emaciated pups started showing up in January.
Read the full story at the Ventura County Star