High Surf Creates Crisis for Sea Lions

Sea lion pups are being driven ashore in record numbers by high surf and animal authorities have run out of space to shelter them, officials say.

“We have an absolute crisis of sea lions right now,” said lifeguard Lt. Mike Cunningham.

Ft. MacArthur Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, the only shelter for marine mammals in Los Angeles County, usually receives 150 animals in the course of a year--but has received 100 since Jan. 1, said Director Jackie Ott.

Most of the beached pups have recently been weaned and aren’t strong enough to fish or fend for themselves in the pounding surf, said Joe Cardaro, a wildlife biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

They come ashore to rest, he said.

Federal authorities have declared a 48-hour waiting period before they will pick up stranded pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), in order to encourage them to return to sea on their own.

“This happens every El Nino,” said Cardaro. “We have to start accepting animals coming to the beach and dying. This is nature’s way of thinning out the population.”

Meanwhile, lifeguards have warned residents to keep themselves and their pets away from the pups.

“These animals on the beach are irritable and hungry,” Cunningham said.

“And they have very sharp teeth.”

They may be cute, but they are still wild animals, he said.