Six dolphins — four dead and two alive — have washed up in Huntington, Newport and Laguna beaches. Two more were reported in Seal Beach but washed back out to sea.
The high number led PMMC officials on Monday, Feb. 25, to declare the strandings “drastic and unexpected.”
The center said it sees a surge in the number of sea lions admitted with symptoms of leptospirosis every four to five years. Before the 2017 outbreak, the most recent ones occurred in 2011 and 2008. During the 2011 outbreak, about 200 sea lions infected with leptospirosis were admitted to the center, according to a news release.
About 12 of the 2017 cases were found in Monterey County sea lions, the Monterey Herald reported. Leptospirosis is caused by a spiral-shaped bacteria called leptospira. Two of the cases were in Santa Cruz County.
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The strandings of a record number of sea lion pups along the California coast this year are linked to a puzzling weather pattern that has warmed their Pacific Ocean habitat and likely impacted fish… Read More ›
Hawaiian monk seals had 121 new pups in 2014, according to scientists with the U.S. Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program (HMSRP). And since only 1,200 of the critically endangered marine mammals are left in the wild, that means this year’s… Read More ›
A measles-like virus that is blamed for killing hundreds of dolphins on the U.S. East Coast has spread into a Florida lagoon where hundreds of manatees, brown pelicans and dolphins already died mysteriously in recent years. The Indian River Lagoon,… Read More ›
MORRO BAY, Calif. – Packed with large nets, wooden boards and a large crate, a dark blue truck scoured the edges of surfer-lined Pismo Beach late one morning earlier this month. Onlookers in the distance tipped them off to what… Read More ›
Editor’s Note: Another unusual rash of marine mammals have beached themselves requiring rescue operations along the Pacific coastline. Along the north coast of California, the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, reports 429 pinniped rescues as of early May 2014,… Read More ›
Editor’s Note: Humpback whales returning from their Mexican winter vacation have collided with Central California’s crabbing industry with the result of nearly a half-dozen whales entangled in crab traps and rigging. The whales returned earlier than normal–all while the crabbing… Read More ›
SAUSALITO, CALIF. — A marine mammal rescue group said Monday it’s seeing a record number of stranded sea lions and seals along the Northern and central California coast — some of whom appear to have been sickened by toxins and… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 