Dozens of sea lions were found dead washed up on the California coast.
Rescuers are concerned after a slew of dead sea lions washed up alongside the coast, from Newport Beach to Laguna Beach. Their initial suspicion that something may be off was when a sea lion between 7 and 15 was stranded on Newport Beach in February.
The animal ended up going blind after suffering from seizures. Only a few days passed before more sea lions started showing up, and all of them were dead. Newsweek reports 21 teen sea lions were found dead in February; six washed up on the same day.
The sea lions may have died from domoic acid bloom, which is pseudo-nitzschia australis, a sometimes deadly algae that contain neurotoxins. The toxins are released when it blooms in water; the algae can be found alongside the Pacific Coast, stretching from California to Canada. If too much neurotoxin is consumed, it can lead to brain damage or heart failure.
However, some scientists don’t believe this is how the sea lions died as the blooms don’t usually occur during this time of the year, Newsweek reports. They are also considering the sea lions’ deaths may be connected to a recent oil spill that took place near Huntington Beach in 2021. In the meantime, scientists say they will continue to test samples from the sea lions.
“It’s unfortunate so many animals died,” Deming told The Orange County Register, per Newsweek.” It’s our obligation to investigate when there are events like this and to figure out what these animals are telling us about what’s going on with our ocean.”
