Overview
- A California sea lion that was seen seizing on a San Francisco beach died Monday, and the Marine Mammal Center confirmed volunteers responded to the animal.
- The California Academy of Sciences will collect the carcass and perform a necropsy to determine whether domoic acid from an algal bloom caused the seizures and death.
- The Marine Mammal Center says it is handling a sharp increase in sick sea lions across its roughly 600-mile response area with its hotlines receiving about 200 to 650 calls a day.
- Domoic acid is produced by certain algal blooms, builds up in small fish and shellfish, and can cause seizures and permanent brain damage in predators; early treatment with uncontaminated fish and fluids can help animals recover.
- Officials warn the public to keep distance from stranded marine mammals and leash dogs as they monitor possible wider impacts on fisheries such as Dungeness crab seasons that have closed in past domoic acid events.