Rescued from the beach, a sick sea lion and her newborn pup are now on the mend with dozens of others at a marine mammal care center, part of effort by California wildlife experts responding to a sudden surge in animals falling ill to a neurotoxin.
Experts say a recent outbreak of algae bloom - commonly known as red tide - has sickened and killed an unknown number of sea lions and dolphins.
"It started as a trickle. In the first week we had 12 animals. Then in the next week we were up to 60 plus animals, so it happened relatively quick," said John Warner, chief executive of the Marine Mammal Care Center in the coastal Los Angeles neighborhood of San Pedro. The algae is a natural phenomenon that causes the production of a neurotoxin called domoic acid, but the blooms can also proliferate because of human causes such as climate change and an excess of nitrates washed out to sea, experts say. Similar events occurred in California five other times since 2002.
Sea lions are a fixture on many California beaches, sunning on the shoreline, barking at each other, and sometimes looking for an easy meal from tourists.
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