15th Sea Lion Found; This 1 Is Alive, Will Be Examined

An ailing, 300-pound sea lion was found at Seal Beach on Saturday, the 15th to wash up on Orange County beaches in one week but the first still alive.

Sea World of San Diego late Saturday agreed to dispatch a team of biologists and a specialized vehicle to bring the male sea lion back to the aquatic park, where veterinarians will examine it today after letting it rest Saturday night.

Beach-goers saw the animal about 9 a.m. thrashing near the water line. An organization called Friends of the Sea Lion sent members to the site, but the animal was too large to bring to the group’s facilities in Laguna Beach.

Judi Jones, director of Friends of the Sea Lion, said, “There was no evidence of injury or bullet holes that we could find.”

Wildlife authorities have speculated that the 14 other animals suffered viral infections or were killed by people. For example, commercial fishing operators often kill sea lions that become trapped in gill nets, said John Cunningham, co-director of Friends of the Sea Lion. “They’ll either shoot it or cut off its head.” That may explain why some of the animals that have washed ashore were headless, he said. All have been too decomposed for a necropsy, an examination to determine the cause of death.

In all of last year, 18 of the creatures were found dead on area beaches, authorities said.

On Saturday, the sight of the animal’s suffering was distressing to those on the beach south of the entrance to Anaheim Bay.

Many did not understand why the sea lion was allowed to suffer for more than 6 hours before Sea World authorities were called at 2 p.m. Both city animal control officers and lifeguards said that they wanted to help but could not because beached marine animals are under federal jurisdiction.

Seal Beach lifeguard Tom Tarpley said local officials could not reach anyone at the National Marine Fisheries Service on Saturday. No one answered the phone at the agency’s Terminal Island offices.

“I’m surprised that they haven’t been here. . . . Usually, they move pretty quickly, for both the public’s and the animal’s sake,” Tarpley said. But he said “our hands are tied by law. We really can’t help.”

Usually, Tarpley said, sea lions wash ashore “near death or dead. This is the longest time that I have seen one stay alive. I hope that he makes it.”